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GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
VOL. HI
L () N D () N :
willi a im mac k 1-. n 7. 1 k. uq, l u dg a t k hill.
ki)inhur(;h and dublin.
^ ^32-^ A SERIES OF
Y. &.
PICTUBESQUE VIEWS OF
SEATS
OF
THE JSrOBLEMEN AND GENTLEMEN"
OF
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
WITH DESCRIPTIVE AND HISTORICAL LETTERPRESS.
EDITED BY
THE REV. F. O. MORRIS, B.A.,
AUTHOR OF A "HISTOKV OP BRITISH BIRDS," DEDICATED BY PERMISSION TO HER JIOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE QUEEN.
VOL. HI.
LONDON:
WILLIAM MACKENZIE, 69, LUDGATE MILL.
EDINBURGH AND DUBLIN.
THE LIBRARY
BRIGHAM YOUNG U ^RSITY
^--^ EROyo. UTAH
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Sandeingham. — His Royal Highness the Peixce of "Wales . . .1
CoMPTON Vekney. — Lord Willotjghby de Broke .... 3
Lambton Castle. — Earl of Durham . . , . . .5
Mamhead. — Newman, Baronet ...... 7
Keele Hall. — Snetd . . . , . . .9
SHiRBxrEN Castle. — Earl of Macclesfield . . . . . H
"WYifYAED Park. — Marquis of Londonderry . . , . .13
HuTTON Hall. — Pease . . . . . . . 15
MtTNCASTER Castle. — Lord Muncaster . . . . . .17
BEAlfTINGHAM ThORPE. SyKES . . . . . . 19
Helmingham Hall. — Baron Tollemache . . . . .21
Trafalgar House. — Earl Nelson . . . . . . 23
Broughton Castle. — Lord Sate and Sele . . . . .25
Stowlangtoft Hall. — Wilson . . . . . . 27
Capesthorne. — Davenport . . . . . . .29
PoWERSCOURT. — VlSCOUNT PoWERSCOURT . . . . . 31
Studley Castle. — Walker . . . . . . .33
EsHTON Hall. — Wilson, Baronet ..... 35
Caen Wood Towers. — Brooke . . . . . .37
Birr Castle. — Earl of Eosse . . . ' . . . 39
Aeburt Hall. — Newdegate . . ' . . . . .41
Weoxton Abbey. — North . . . . • . 43
CouGHTON Court. — Throckmorton, Baronet . . . . .45
Euston Hall. — Duke of Graftoij- ..... 47
IV
CONTENTS.
Sezincot. — RusHOUT, Baeonet.
KiMBOLTON Castle. — Duke of Manchester
"Westonbirt House. — Holpoed
"Wolseley Hall. — Wolseley, Baronet
Dartrey. — Earl of Dartrey . .
Mere VALE Hall. — Dugdale ....
Bestwood Lodge. — Duke of St. Albans
RossMORE Park. — Lord Rossmore ....
Philiphaugh. — Murray, Baronet
Wynnstay. — Williams-Wynn, Baronet
Moreton Hall. — Ackers ....
Hengraye Hall. — Gage ....
Easton Hall. — Cholmeley, Baronet
Preston Hall. — Brassey ....
Lawton Hall. — Lawton ....
St. Michael's Mount. — St. Aubyn, Baronet, f Vignette Tltle-paye.)
page
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THE COUNTY SEATS.
SANDRINGHAM,
NEAR LYNN, NORFOLK. — HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF WALES.
I HAVE often thouglit to myself how truly the words of Gray, in his "Elegy
in a Country Churchyard," — the most beautiful poem, in my judgment, that ever
has been or ever will be written in the English language, — apply to others as well
as to .
"the rude forefathers of the hamlet"
in any and every remote corner of the country throughout the length and breadth
of the land. Not only has it been true of those of humble rank that
"Adown the cool sequestered vale of life
They kept the noiseless tenour of their way,"
but it has been the same — this it is that I have frequently noticed to myself — with
others of every degree above them, even to the highest.
Many and many a head of an ancient and honourable family is there at the present
time, both titled and untitled, of whose name even not one person in every ten
thousand you would ordinarily meet with has ever heard. But they are known, and
well known, in their own neighbourhoods. They are content to live a '^ quiet and
peaceable life," "the world forgetting, by the world forgot;" and to "do their duty
in that state of life unto which it has pleased God to call them" is the height
of their ambition. Theirs is a happy and a useful career. They live among their
tenantry, have a care for their welfare, and set them a good example: they do that
which "England expects of every man."
It is not that it has always continued to be so, or does still, or must always thus
continue. From time to time a Milton is no longer mute, and a "village Hampden"
III. B
2 SANDKINGHAM.
of "dauntless breast" stands forward on the stage of the world's history, and leaves
an undying name behind him, soon, if not at once, to be followed by those who
will retire, from choice it may be, into that "quiet living '^ in the country, which
is the happiest state that a man can live in.
Thus it was with the family of Cromwell himself. His ancestors, though respectable,
lived as quiet country gentlemen, "unnoticed and unknown,^^ "guiltless of their
country's blood," and his son wisely gave up the crown to its rightful owner, and,
having retired into private life, so died as he had lived. Thus it was with Wellington,
with Nelson, with Shakespeare, and with Scott, and with those who went before
and those who followed them, and so doubtless it will be age after age.
And as it has been with persons, so also with places, the latter indeed only
through the former: the name of the "local habitation" obtains its own celebrity
on account of that of him whose words or deeds have made it famous at one and
the same time that he has immortalized his own.
I have been led to make this remark in carrying on the second set of these
volumes, beginning, as it properly does, with the present account of the residence
of the eldest son of the reigning Sovereign, from having similarly observed in the
previous one that the E-oyal residence of Balmoral, as the Queen's abode, has now
its name known in every corner of the earth, whereas before it became so, it was
absolutely unheard of and altogether unknown beyond its own immediate neighbourhood.
So it has been with Sandringham, the private seat of His Royal Highness the
Prince of Wales. Who does not know its name now? Who ever heard of it before?
I need not say much, either of the place itself or of its Royal owner, for the
picture of it will I hope convey a good idea of the former to my readers, and the
eldest son of the Queen of England has already a world-wide history, and needs no
other to be written of him, or of the princely race of which he has come.
In "Domesday Book" the name of the place appears as Santdersincham, which
seems to point to a common origin with that of the adjoining parish of Dersingham.
The village lies a little way fi'om the foot of some sand hills, which no doubt
have given to it its distinguishing name, and the grounds of the house have the
customary attractions of English scenery, hill and dale, wood and water. The Church
and Rectory adjoin the place, embowered in foliage, the common accompaniment in
like manner of the retired country Parsonage.
On a clear day the noble tower of Boston Church is plainly to be seen, standing
up as it does from the level plain to which it is such a great and striking orna-
ment, as if from the neighbouring ocean itself, a well-known landmark as it at the
same time is to those that "go down to the sea in ships, and occupy their business
in great waters."
Nothing but good taste could be looked for from the son of the late Prince
Consort, and such an expectation will be found to have been met and fulfilled in
the improvements that have been made at Sandringham by the Prince of Wales.
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COMPTON YEENEY,
NEAR KINETON, WARWICKSHIRE. — LORD WILLOUGHBY DE BROKE.
"CoMPTON Muedale" being the original name of this place, the derivation of it
is thus given by Dugdale in his "History of Warwickshire:^^ — ''This taking its
name, as all other Comptons do, from the situation in or near some deep valley,
hath had the addition of Murdale to distinguish it from the many other Comptons
in this county, in the regard that the family of Murdale were antiently owners
thereof." The word 'Compton' is, in fact, there can be no doubt, a combination of
the two words 'coombe' and 'town,^ the former indicating a valley, or glen, in which
sense it is very commonly used in Devonshire, as also more or less in other counties.
Thus in Yorkshire a narrow gorge of this kind, appropriately called "Cleaving
Coombe," occurs on the road between Nunburnholme and Londesborough. At what
date the name was changed to that of Compton Verney there is no certainty, but
in all probability it was at the time of the house being rebuilt, as Dugdale
writes of it in one of his three volumes, published respectively in the years 1655,
1661, and 1673, as Compton Murdale.
In the time of William the Conqueror it belonged to
Earl Nellent, from whom it came to his brother,
Henry de Newburgh, Earl of Warwick, whose son and successor,
Roger, Earl of Warwick, towards the latter part of the reign of Henry the First,
granted it to
Robert Murdale and his heirs. It remained in the possession of this family until
the reign of Henry the Sixth, when it appears to have passed into the hands of
Richard Verney Esq., (a member of a Worcestershire family,) who built a large
part of the house as it stood until about 1770. This Richard Verney was afterwards
Knighted for services done to the king. In 1695,
Sir Richard Verney, the then owner of Compton Verney, having married Margaret
Greville (sister and heir to Fulke Greville, Lord Broke,) claimed, through her, and
obtained the Barony of Willoughby de Broke, the title now held by the present
owner.
The old house and chapel were completely rebuilt by John Verney, Lord
Willoughby de Broke, about the year above named; he also laid out the grounds
much as they now remain.
The house stands in a very picturesque situation, but beyond a fine entrance hall.
4 COMPTON VERNEY.
which runs nearly the whole length of the building, there is nothing remarkable in
the interior. The stained glass windows in the chapel (taken from the original one)
are many of them curious and of great antiquity.
There are here some fine paintings: among others, one of Sir R. Heath, by Jansenj
another of Queen Elizabeth; one of Sir Fulke Greville, Lord Broke; besides other
good family portraits.
The pleasure grounds are extensive, presenting a variety of surface, and abounding
in wood as well as water, without which in combination no landscape, however beautiful
in itself, is complete.
The line of descent of the title in this ancient family is as follows: —
Sir Richard Verney, of Compton Murdale, married Margaret, sole heiress of her
brother, Lord Broke.
Sir Greville Verney.
Sir Richard Verney, restored to the Barony of Willoughby de Broke, as tenth
Baron.
The Honourable and Rev. George Verney, eleventh Baron.
Richard Verney, twelfth Baron.
John Peyto Verney, thirteenth Baron.
John Peyto Verney, fourteenth Baron.
Henry Peyto Verney, fifteenth Baron.
Robert John Verney, sixteenth Baron,
Henry Verney, seventeenth Baron.
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LAM ETON CASTLE,
DURHAM. EARL OF DURHAM.
Lambton Castle, built from the designs of Ignatius Bonomi, on the site of
Harraton Hall — anciently the residence of the D^Arcys and Hedworths — occupies an
eminence ovei'hanging- the river Wear, and is almost completely sheltered by the
woods which crown the valley. On the west, where the banks recede, the hills of
the moors are seen bounding the horizon.
The bridge, erected by John George Lambton, Esq., over the river in the valley
beneath the castle, from whence it is visible, forms a beautiful feature in the
landscape.
The rooms of the castle, arranged with great elegance and attention to comfort,
contain many valuable paintings, among which are two by Domenichino, one by
Bassano, one by Titian, one by Raphael, two by Bothe, one by Salvator Rosa, one
by Giorgione, one by Baroccio, one by Breughels; etc., etc., and several excellent
pictures by Glover and other English artists.
The demesne was in the possession of the Lambtons before the Conquest, and
has remained in that family through an uninterrupted line of succession.
The well known story of the Lambton eft, water-wyvern, or water snake, is thus
told by Surtees: — "The heir of Lambton, fishing, as was his profane custom, in the
Wear, on a Sunday, hooked a small worm, or eft, which he carelessly threw into a
well, and thought no more of the adventure. The worm (at first neglected) grew
till it was too large for its first habitation, and issuing from the Worm Well, betook
itself to the Wear, where it usually lay a part of the day coiled round a crag in
the middle of the water; it also frequented a green mound near the well (the Worm
Hill), where it lapped itself nine times round, leaving vermicular traces, of which
grave living witnesses depose that they have seen the vestiges. It now became the
terror of the country, and, amongst other enormities, levied a daily contribution of
nine cows' milk, which was always placed for it at the green hill, and in default of
which it devoured man and beast. Young Lambton had, it seems, meanwhile totally
repented him of his former life and conversation, had bathed himself in a bath of
holy water, taken the sign of the Cross, and joined the Crusaders. On his return
home, he was extremely shocked at witnessing the effects of his youthful imprudences,
and immediately undertook the adventure. After several fierce combats, in which
6 LAMBTON CASTLE.
the Crusader was foiled by his enemy^s power of self-union, he found it expedient
to add policy to courage, and not perhaps possessing much of the former, he went
to consult a witch, or wise woman.
''By her judicious advice, he armed himself in a coat of mail studded with razor-
blades; and thus prepared, placed himself on the crag in the river, and awaited the
monster's arrival. At the usual time, the worm came to the rock and wound himself
with great fury round the armed knight, who had the satisfaction to see his enemy
cut in pieces by his own efforts, whilst the stream, washing away the severed parts,
prevented the possibility of re-union. There is still a sequel to the story: the witch
had promised Lambton success only on one condition, — that he should slay the first
living thing which met his sight after the victory. To avoid the possibility of
human slaughter, Lambton had directed his father that as soon as he heard him
sound three blasts on his bugle in token of the achievement performed, he should
release his favourite greyhound, which would immediately fly to the sound of the
horn, and was destined to be the sacrifice. On hearing his son's bugle, however, the
old chief was so overjoyed that he forgot the injunction, and ran himself with open
arms to meet his son. Instead of committing a parricide, the conqueror again
repaired to his adviser, who pronounced as the alternative of disobeying the original
instructions, that no chief of the Lambtons should die in his bed for seven, or (as
some accounts say,) for nine generations — a commutation which to a martial spirit
had nothing very terrible, and which was willingly complied with.''
On this legend Sir Bernard Burke remarks: — "The subject matter of the exploit
may be equally a Danish rover, a domestic tyrant, or, as in the well-known case
of the Dragon of Wantley, a villainous overgrown lawyer, endowed with all the
venom, maw, and speed of a flying eft, whom the gallant 'Moor of Moor Hall'
slew 'with nothing at all' but the aid of a good conscience and a 'fair maid of
sixteen.'"
MAMHEAD,
NEAR EXMOUTHj DEVONSHIRE. NEWMAN,, BARONET.
Th^ palatial seat of Sir Lydston Newman, Bart., though perhaps not so picturesque
as his favourite marine residence of Stokeley.
Mamhead, in Domesday Book ''Mameorde/' is thus pronounced by the common
people at this very day. It appears to mean "head-land.'^
The beauties of the site may be gathered from the subjoined extract from "A Poem
written at Mamhead beneath an evergreen oak in 1785/^ by the Rev. R. Polwhele.
"Here, Laura, rest, our wearied feet have strayed
From the proud obelisk that fronts the scene
Of many a tufted hill, whose bolder green
The sweet perspective mixed in mellow shade,
While sparkling through the stately fir-trees played
The burnished hamlets of the vale between;
And all the misty bosom of the glade
Seemed opening to the azure sea serene."
The mansion was rebuilt in 1832 by the father of the present Baronet, from a
design by Anthony Salvin. It is composed of Bath stone, very skilfully wrought.
The tall chimney stacks and gables, highly ornamented, present a variety of different
forms, being relieved by two square and octagonal towers, rising with extremely
good effect. There are four fronts to the edifice, uniform in design but varied in
detail. The southern front is terminated by a conservatory. The eastern front is
exceedingly grand. The large window of the staircase is filled with heraldic designs
in painted glass by Willement. The whole building is raised upon terraces, whence
the Isle of Portland can be seen in the distance, while in the foreground are the
park, Powderham, and the river Exe winding to the channel. The stabling and other
offices are built in the castellated style. The architect was evidently acquainted with
the principles of taste as developed in the works of the great masters, where an
endless variety is found in combination with perfect harmony in the same picture.
The family of Newman is of great antiquity. So early as the reigns of Henry the
■ Sixth and Henry the Seventh, Thomas and William Newman appear from the public
records of Dartmouth to have been settled in that town. Over the remains of John
Newman, who was buried at St. Petrox, 6th. April, 1640, are to be seen the arms
now borne by the family.
8 MAMHEAD.
The father of the present Baronet^ Sir Robert William Newman, married in 1813,
Mary Jane, daughter of Richard Denne, Esq., of Winchelsea, in Sussex, by Ann his
wife, daughter of the Venerable William Rastall, D.D., Dean of Southwell, a lineal
descendant of Chief Justice Rastall.
The ancient family of the Dennes is descended from Ralph de Dene, living in the
time of the Conqueror, Lord of Buckhurst, in Sussex, who wedded Sybella, sister
of Robert de Gatton, and had a son Robert, his heir, and a daughter Ella, married
to Sir J. Sackville, ancestor of the Dukes of Dorset.
Sir Robert William Newman, who was some time M.P. for Exeter, and High Sheriff
of the County of Devon in 1827, was created a Baronet March 17th., 1836. He died
in 1848, and was succeeded by his son,
Sir Robert Lydston Newman, a Captain in the Grenadier Guards, who fell at the
Battle of Inkermann, 5th. November, 1854, and was succeeded by his brother, the
present and third Baronet,
Sir Lydston Newman, Deputy-Lieutenant for Devon, late a captain in the 7th.
Hussars, and High Sheriff of the County of Devon in 1871. Sir Lydston Newman
is married, and, beside daughters, has issue a son, Robert Hunt Stapylton Dudley
Lydston Newman, born 1871.
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KEELE HALL,
NEAE NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYNE, STAFFORDSHIRE. SNEYD.
The Manor of Keele was granted by King Henry the Second^ A.D. 1180, to the
Knights Templars, and on the suppression of that order passed into the possession
of the Knights Hospitallers, who held it until their property was confiscated, at the
Reformation, by King Henry the Eighth, who sold Keele to Sir William Sneyd,
Knight, of Bradwell. His son and heir, Ralph Sneyd, Esq., "built there,^' as stated
by Erdeswick, "a very proper and fine house of stone," which was completed in 1581,
and of which a view, engraved by Michael Burghers in 1686, is given in Plot's
History of Staffordshire. Keele was plundered during the Civil Wars, and narrowly
escaped demolition by Cromwell's troops, when its then owner, Colonel Ralph Sneyd,
who was a devoted adherent to the cause of King Charles the First, suffered heavy
losses on account of his loyalty.
The old hall was finally taken down in 1855, by the late Ralph Sneyd, Esq., who
re-erected on its site, and in the same style of architecture, the present noble mansion.
Keele Hall is built of a pale red sandstone, relieved with white stone. It is finely
situated on elevated ground, commanding extensive views to the south and west,
and is surrounded by a well-wooded park of six hundred acres. The gardens and
pleasure grounds are extensive, and well kept.
The house, which is entered from a court, through a spacious hall, thirty feet high,
and hung with family portraits, contains a fine suite of rooms, richly famished and
decorated, and stored with many precious works of art. The library is extensive
and valuable, comprising a rare collection of ancient manuscripts. The house also
contains a good collection of pictures by the old masters; amongst which may be
mentioned original full-length portraits of Cortez; of King Henry the Eighth; Charles
the Fii'st, by Honthorst; a Dake of Ferrara, by Zucchero; Lorenzo Priuli, Doge of
Venice, by Tintoretto; Ralph Sneyd, the builder of the old house, by Cornelius
Jansen; two portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds; besides many choice cabinet pictures
of the English, Flemish, and Italian schools.
The ancient family of Sneyd, which has continued during six centuries in direct
male descent from Henry de Sneyde, who lived in the reign of King Edward the
First, was formerly seated at Bradwell, in the parish of Wolstanton, but removed
from thence, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, to Keele, which has ever since been
the chief family residence.
III. C
10 KEELE HALL.
The genealogy of this old family in a direct line is as follows : —
Henry de Sneyde, of Sneyde and Tunstall, living in 1310, married Margaret,
daughter and heiress of Nicholas de Tunstall, by whom he had
Nicholas de Sneyde, alias Tunstall. He was father of
Richard de Tunstall, alias Sneyde. His son and heir,
EiCHARD Sneyde, of Bradwell and Tunstall, was followed by
William Sneyde, of Bradwell, who was succeeded by his son,
Richard Sneyde, of Bradwell, who, by Agnes his wife, was father of
Nicholas Sneyde, of Bradwell, living in 1473. He married Margaret, daughter and
coheiress of Robert Downes, of Shrigley, Cheshire, and left a son,
William Sneyde, of Chester, who married Johanna, daughter and heiress of Roger
Ledsham, Gentleman, of Chester, and had with other children,
Richard Sneyde, of Bradwell, Recorder of Chester, who, by his wife, Anne Fowle-
hurst, of Crewe, had an eldest son.
Sir William Sneyde, Knight, of Bradwell, High Sheriff of StaflPordshire, 3 Edward
VI., and 5 and 6 Philip and Mary. He married, first, Anne, daughter and heiress of
Thomas Barrowe, Esq., of Flookersbrooke, near Chester, and had by her,
Ralph Sneyde, of Keele and Bradwell, born in 1564, High Sheriff, 18 and 37
Elizabeth, who, by his first wife, Mary, daughter of Thomas Chetwynd, of Ingestrie,
had a son and heir,
Ralph Sneyde, of Bradwell and Keele, who married Felicia, daughter of Nicholas
Archbald, of Uttoxeter. Their son,
Ralph Sneyde, of Keele and Bradwell, Colonel in the Royal Army, married Jane,
daughter of Roger Downes, Esq., of Wordley, and had
William Sneyd, of Keele, born in 1612. His wife was Elizabeth, daughter and
coheiress of Robert Audeley, of Gransden, in Huntingdonshire, and by her he had
Ralph Sneyd, of Keele, married to Frances, daughter of Sir Robert Dryden, Bart.,
of Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire, and had
Ralph Sneyd, of Bradwell, born December 22nd., 1669, who married Frances,
daughter of Sir William Noel, Bart., of Kirkby Mallory, in the county of Leicester,
and dying before his father, had a son, heir to the latter,
Ralph Sneyd, of Keele, baptized in May, 1692, who married Anne, daughter of
Allen Halford, Esq., of Davenham, Cheshire, whose surviving son,
Ralph Sneyd, of Keele, born in 1723, married, in 1749, Barbara, daughter of Sir
Walter Longstaffe, Bart., and by her had, with other children,
Walter Sneyd, of Keele, born February 11th., 1752, M.P. for Castle Rising, High
Sheriff of Staffordshire, 1814, and Lieutenant-Colonel of the Staffordshire Militia. He
married. May 9th., 1786, the Honourable Louisa Bagot, daughter of William, first
Lord Bagot, and had
Ralph Sneyd, of Keele, D.L., born October 9th., 1793, High Sheriff of Staffordshire,
1844, who died unmarried July, 1870, and was followed by his brother.
The Rev. Walter Sneyd, M.A., F.S.A., born July 23rd., 1809, married, October
14th., 1856, Henrietta Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Malone Sneyd, Esq., of Cherry-
vale, in the county of Donegal, and has with other children a son, Ralph^ born
December 10th., 1863.
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SHIRBURN CASTLE,
NEAR TETSWORTHj OXFORDSHIRE. EARL OF MACCLESFIELD.
Leland writes^ "Shirburne, within a mile of Wathelington church, where is a strong
pile, or castlet, longed to Quatremain, since to Fowler, and by exchange, now to
Chamberlain of Oxfordshire."
Camden states, that "the Chamberlains were descended from the Earls of Tankervil,
who, bearing the office of Chamberlain to the Dukes of Normandy, their posterity,
laying aside the old name of Tankervil, called themselves Chamberlain, from the said
office which their ancestors enjoyed.^''
It appears, that, in the fifty-first year of Edward the Third, Sir Wariner de L'Isle,
Knight, obtained permission to build a castle at Shirburn, where his ancestor, Wariner
de L^Isle, in the tenth year of the same king, had a charter of free-warren, and
leave to enclose one hundred acres of woodland for a park.
Shirburn Castle is nearly in the form of a parallelogram, and the whole building
is encompassed by a broad and deep moat. The approaches are over three draw-
bridges, and the chief entrance is guarded by a portcullis. At each angle of the
edifice is a circular tower. Flat ranges of stone-building occupy the intervals, and
along the whole top is an embattled parapet.
In the twelfth volume of the "Beauties of England and Wales,'' Mr. Brewer, the
able writer of the account of Oxfordshire, states, that "the interior of Shirburn
Castle is disposed in a style of modern elegance and comfort that contains no
allusion to the external castellated character of the structure, with an exception of
one long room fitted up as an armoury. On the sides of this apartment are hung
various pieces of mail, together with shields, tilting-spears, and offensive arms, of
modern as well as ancient date. The rooms are in general well proportioned, but
not of very large dimensions. There are two capacious libraries, well furnished with
books, and tastefully adorned with paintings and sculpture. Among the portraits are
several of the Lord Chancellor Macclesfield, and an original of Catharine Parr,
Queen to Henry the Eighth. She is represented standing behind a highly embellished
vacant chair, with her hand on the back. Her dress is black, richly ornamented
with precious stones. The fingers are loaded with rings; and in one hand is a
handkerchief, edged with deep lace. Inserted in the lower part of the frame, and
carefully covered with glass, is an interesting appendage to this portrait: a piece of
hair cut from the head of Catharine Parr, in the year 1799, when her coffin was
12 SHIRBURN CASTLE.
opened at Sudeley Castle. The hair is auburn, and matches exactly with that
delineated in the picture.
Shirburn Castle was honoured with a visit from the Queen and Princesses, in the
summer of 1808.''
George Parker, Esq., of Park Hall, in Staffordshire, was father of
Thomas Parker, Esq., of Leke, in the same county, whose son was
Thomas Parker, first Earl of Macclesfield, who may be considered as the founder
of the family. The castle and manor of Shirburn were purchased at the commence-
ment of the last century by him. He was bred to the law, called to the degree of
Sergeant in 1705, constituted Chief Justice of the King's Bench 1709-10, by Queen
Anne, and appointed Lord Chancellor by George the First in 1718. He was created
Baron Macclesfield, March 9th., 1716, and advanced to the dignity of Viscount
Parker and Earl of Macclesfield, November 15th., 1721. He died in 1732, having
married Janet, daughter and coheiress of Charles Carrier, Esq., of Wirkworth, in
Derbyshire. His son,
George Parker, the second Earl, was President of the Royal Society, and LL.D.
of the University of Oxford, and was chiefly remarkable for the part which he took
in the alteration of the style in 1750. He was also author of "Remarks on the Polar
and Lunar Years," etc. He married, first, 1722, Mary, elder daughter and coheiress
of Ralph Lane, Esq., an eminent Turkey merchant.
Thomas Parker, the third Earl, who succeeded to the title, March 17th., 1764,
married, December 12th., 1749, his cousin Mary, eldest daughter of Sir William
Heathcote, Bart., and had issue two sons and two daughters. He dying February
9th., 1795, was succeeded by his eldest son,
George Parker, fourth Earl, who married, may 25th., 1780, Mary Frances, daughter
and coheiress of the Rev. Thomas Drake, D.D., Rector of Amersham, Buckinghamshire,
but having no son, was succeeded in the title by his only brother,
Thomas Parker, fifth Earl, born June 9th., 1763, High Steward of Henley, who
married, first, the eldest daughter of Lewis Edwards, Esq., of Talgarth, by whom he
had four daughters; and secondly, March 19th., 1807, EHza, youngest daughter of
William Breton-Wolstenholme, Esq., of Holly Hill, Sussex, and left with two daughters,
a son,
Thomas Augustus Wolstenholme Parker, born March 17th., 1811, who succeeded
as sixth Earl.
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WYNYARD PAEK,
NEAR STOCKTON-ON-TEESj DURHAM. MARQUIS OP LONDONDERRY.
Wynyard Park is the principal residence of tlie Marquis of Londonderry^ whose
father, Charles, the third Marquis, became possessed of Wynyard, and large estates
and collieries in the county of Durham, by his marriage with the Lady Frances Anne
Vane Tempest, only child of Sir Henry Vane Tempest, Bart., and the Countess of
Antrim.
The park, about two thousand acres in extent, affords much varied and beautiful
scenery, with some fine views of the Cleveland Hills in Yorkshire.
About the centre of the park, and on the margin of a large artificial lake, whose
sloping banks are planted with a great variety of evergreens and other ornamental
trees, stands the house, a large and splendid mansion of Corinthian architecture,
erected by the late Marquis on the site of an older seat.
The north front is graced by a portico, consisting of twelve handsome columns
surmounted by an entablature.
The sculpture gallery, a magnificent apartment one hundred feet long and fifty-
eight feet high, which forms the centre of the mansion, is octagonal, and has a
double dome, with a lantern of very beautiful stained glass in the centre.
The south front measures three hundred feet in length. It looks over large and
handsome terraces, and down upon the lake, which is here spanned by a very
graceful chain bridge.
About a quarter of a mile from the mansion are the gardens, which cover a space
of thirteen acres, in addition to the extensive pleasure grounds.
Wynyard Park is seven miles distant from the town of Stockton-on-Tees, the
border river between the county of Durham and Yorkshire.
The descent of the family of the Marquis of Londonderry is as follows: —
John Stewart, Esq., of Ballylawn Castle, in the County of Donegal, the first of
his family who settled in Ireland, was succeeded at his decease by his eldest son,
Charles Stewart, Esq., whose great great grandson,
Alexander Stewart, Esq., of Mount Stewart, in the County of Down, born in the
year 1709, married the 30th. of June, 1737, Mary, only surviving daughter of
Alderman John Cowan, of Londonderry, and sister and heiress of Sir Robert Cowan,
Knight, Governor of Bombay, and had, with other children.
14 WYNYARD PARK.
The Right Honourable Robert Stewart, of MouDt Stewart and Ballylawn Castle,
wlio was raised to the Peerage of Ireland, November 18tli., 1789, as Baron Stewart,
and subsequently was further elevated, October 6th., 1795, as Viscount Castlbreagh;
afterwards, August 10th., 1796, as Earl of Londonderry, and on the 22nd. of January,
1816, Marquis of Londonderry. He married first, in 1766, the Honourable Sarah
Prances Seymour, second daughter of Francis, first Marquis of Hertford, by whom
he had Robert, Viscount Castlereagh, his successor, and secondly, in 1775, Frances,
eldest daughter of Charles, first Earl Camden, by whom he had, with other issue,
Charles William Stewart, third Marquis. He died April 8th., 1821, and was
succeeded by the son of his first marriage,
Robert Stewart, second Marquis, who married in 1794, the Honourable Emily
Anne Hobart, youngest daughter and coheiress of John, second Earl of Buckingham-
shire, but had no children, and was followed by his half brother,
Charles William Stewart, K.G., third Marquis, born May 18th., 1778, who married
first, August 8th., 1804, the Honourable Catherine Bligh, youngest daughter of John,
third Earl of Darnley, by whom he had a son,
Frederick William Robert Stewart, fourth Marquis of Londonderry, who married
April 30th., 1846, Lady Powerscourt, widow of Richard, sixth Viscount Powerscourt,
and daughter of Robert, third Earl of Roden, but had no children.
He married, secondly, as above stated, April 3rd., 1819, Lady Frances Anne
Tempest, only daughter and heiress of Sir Henry Vane Tempest, Bart., on which
occasion he assumed the surname and arms of Vane. He was created, on the 8th.
of July, 1823, Eael Vane, with remainder to the issue of his second wife, by whom
he had
George Henry Robert Charles Stewart, Viscount Seaham and second Earl Vane,
who on the death of his half brother succeeded as fifth Marquis op Londonderry.
He married, August 3rd., 1846, Mary Cornelia, only daughter of Sir John Edwards,
Bart.
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HUTTON HALL,
NEAR GUISBOKOUGH, YORKSHIRE. PEASE.
HuTTON Hall was erected by Mr. Joseph Whitwell Pease, M.P., from the designs
of Mr. Waterhouse, the architect. The estate on which it is built was bought of
Mr. George Reed, of Whitby, of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners and the Crown.
The style is domestic Gothic of an early type. The house is built of red brick with
stone facings, the south front commanding a view of the very picturesque Cleveland
hills. The portion of the estate surrounding the mansion was comprised in the grant
of Edward the Sixth of the Abbey lands of Guisborough to Mr. Thomas Chaloner,
and is endorsed as follows: — "Copy of the Letters patent of Demesnes of Gisburne.
Deliver this to Mr. Thomas Chaloner, or Mr. James Chaloner, at Mr. Percye's house in
the White Harte Court in Fleete Streete." In this amongst other things he demises,
*^A11 that one messuage and tenement or mansion called Hoton Hall, enclosed with a
stone wall, and also, all that one close of land called Hoton Create Close. ^^
Not far from the present mansion there was formerly a spital or hospital belonging
to the Priory of Guisborough, founded by William de Bernaldy for lepers, in which
the Lord of Hutton had the right to place one leper.
A small Cistercian Nunnery was founded at Hoton (Hutton Low Cross) by Ralph
de Neville. It was afterwards removed to Nunthorpe, and from there to Baxdale, iu
the parish of Stokesley.
The Prior and Canons of Guisborough remained Lords of Hutton till the dissolution,
when with vast quantities of Church land it went to the Crown, and so remained till
purchased by the above-named proprietor, who thus became Lord of the Manors of
Hutton Low Cross and Pinchingthorpe.
Edward Pease married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Michael Coates, and
was father of
Joseph Pease, who married Mary Richardson, and died April 3rd., 1808, leaving a
son,
Edward Pease, born January 6th., 1 767, whose wife was Rachel, daughter of John
Whitwell, and died July 31st., 1858, having had, with several other children,
Joseph Pease, Esq., M.P, for South Durham from 1832 to 1841. He married.
16 HUTTON HALL.
March 30tli., 1826, Emma, youngest daughter and co-heiress of Joseph Gurney, Esq.,
of Lakenham Grove, Norwich, and had a large family, of whom the eldest son,
Joseph Whitwell Pease, born June 23rd., 1828, married, August 23rd., 1854, Mary,
daughter of Alfred Fox, Esq., of Falmouth.
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MUNCASTER CASTLE,
NEAR RAVENGLASS^ CUMBERLAND. LORD MUNCASTER.
MuNCASTER Castle was originally built by the Romans to guard a ford over the
river Esk^ which runs immediately beneath it. One tower of the old castle remains
entire, and has been inhabited ever since; some foundations and walls of the other
towers exist. It has lately been restored by Mr. Salvin. The old moat and other out-
buildings can still be traced. From its situation a mile and a half from the sea, and
half way up Muncaster fell, it commands the pass over Hardknot and the low ground
by the sea. It came into the possession of the Pennington family about the time of
the Norman Conquest, and they then removed to it from Pennington-in-Furness,
where the site of the old Saxon encampment still remains.
Muncaster Castle has been their principal residence, descending from father to son,
since the Conquest. King Henry the Sixth stopped here after the battle of Hexham,
when a fugitive, and on leaving he gave a glass cup to Sir John Pennington, out of
which the family have ever since been baptized. It is still unbroken, and is commonly
called "The Luck of Muncaster."
The plan of the Castle in former days was four square towers connected by a longer
building, enclosing a quadrangle with moat and gatehouse and chapel. From a terrace
beautiful views up the valley of the Esk ending in Scaw-fell are seen. The church
is very old, but was thoroughly restored by Josslyn, fifth Lord Muncaster, and contains
the tombs of most of the Pennington family.
In lineal descent from the above-named Sir John de Pennington, was
William Pennington, Esq., of Muncaster, created a Baronet June 21st., 1676. He
married Isabel, eldest daughter of John Stapleton, Esq., and had issue, with other
children, his heir.
Sir Joseph Pennington, Bart., M.P. for the county of Cumberland. He married
the Honourable Margaret Lowther, daughter of John, first Viscount Lonsdale, and had
two sons, of whom the elder.
Sir John Pennington, Bart., M.P. for Cumberland, and Lord Lieutenant for the
county of Westmoreland, dying without issue, was succeeded by his brother.
Sir Joseph Pennington, Bart., who married Sarah, daughter and heiress of John
Moore, Esq., of Somersetshire, by whom he had
III. D
18 MUNCASTER CASTLE.
Sir John Pennington, Bart., who was created a peer of Ireland October 21st.,
1783, as Baron Muncaster. He married Penelope, daughter and heiress of James
Crompton, Esq., and died in 1813, leaving no male issue, when the title devolved,
by remainder, to his brother.
Sir Lowther Pennington, second Baron, a General Ofl&cer in 'the Army. He
married in 1802, Esther, second daughter of Thomas Barry, Esq., of Clapham, Surrey,
and widow of James Morrison, Esq., by whom he left at his decease, in 1818, an
only son.
Sir Lowther Augustus John Pennington, third Baron, born December 14th., 1802,
married, December 15th., 1828, Prances Catherine, youngest daughter of Sir John
Ramsden, Bart., and by her had
Sir Gamel Augustus Pennington, fourth Baron, who married, August 2nd., 1855,
Lady Jane Grosvenor, daughter of Robert, first Marquis of Westminster, but died,
leaving only a daughter, June 13th., 1862, and was succeeded by his next brother.
Sir Josslyn Pennington, fifth Baron, M.P. for West Cumberland. He married,
April 9th., 1863, Constance, daughter of Edmund L^Estrange, Esq., of the county of
Sligo.
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BRANTINGHAM THORPE,
NEAR BROUGH, YORKSHIRE. SYKES.
Brantingham Thorpe stands on a high, terrace commanding a most extensive and
beautiful view of the course of the river Humber for more that twenty miles, and
of the Vale of York, broken by the towns of Howden and Selby, the spire of
Heminboroughj and on the opposite side of the river the wooded hills of Lincolnshire.
The present house, a long uneven structure of grey stone, broken by gables and
balustrades, is of various dates. The porch and the centre of the house date from
Elizabeth^s reign, during which one Anthony Smetheby, "Dominus de Brantingham,"
as he is described on a brass plate in the Church, bearing his arms, lived and died
there, A.D. 1574. His daughters and co-heiresses married into the Sotheby, of
Birdsall, and the Ellerker families.
The house was added to by the late owner. Captain Shawe, and largely increased
by the present proprietor.
The dining-room, panelled with oak, is enriched by five landscapes painted in Italy
by Jolly, at the order of the great Lord Chesterfield, for the grand drawing-room at
Chesterfield House, in the beginning of the last century, and a sixth one of the
Ponte di Trinitia, at Florence, by Mario w, of the same date.
The library boasts an almost complete collection of topographical works relating to
the county of York, and more especially to the East Riding.
The entrance to the grounds is about a mile from the Brough station on the North-
Eastern line, flanked by a lodge, recently erected in the Elizabethan style, and in
good keeping with the hall. The drive is through well undulated park scenery, with
a considerable slope from north-east to south-west. As it gradually rises, a charming
view of the river and of the Lincolnshire coast expands, till, when you reach the natural
terrace on which the house stands, you command a lovely panoramic view of the fine
estuary of the sea, known as the river Humber, but, seeing that it is here fully three
miles wide, and viewed from the terrace lengthwise is seen for a distance of at least
twelve miles through which it retains the same width, at that point branching into
the Trent and the Ouse right and left, it realises, with the foreground beautifully
broken by the groups of trees in the park, the idea of a lake of almost unlimited
extent. There is, indeed, no site of such commanding beauty in the East Riding.
The hall stands at an elevation of some two hundred feet or more above the level
of the river, and the hills rise above it to a similar height, clothed with massive
plantations, broken every here and there with ordinary fields, which, in some cases,
lose themselves over the crown of the hills, thus giving distance and variety to the
20 BRANTINGHAM THORPE.
landscape. The hall is Elizabethan in style, built of stone, covered with ivy, roses,
etc. Fronting the house is a terrace, about fifty feet wide, bounded by a low
parapet-wall. Two Wellingtonias, planted on a knoll at the south-east end of the
bouse, are interesting, as souvenirs of a Royal visit, having been planted by their
Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, July 21st., 1869. They show
every prospect of making noble ornamental trees. The ground rises rapidly at the
back of the hall, by a terraced slope of some ten feet in height^ reached by a flight
of steps, and on this higher level is the flower garden.
The following is the account of the descent of the family, as recorded in Burke's
''Peerage and Baron etage.^^ He states that the family came originally from Saxony.
Walter Sykes, of Sykes Dyke, in the county of Cumberland.
Walter Sykes, of Sykes Dyke, tempore Henry the Sixth, was father of
William Sykes, of Leeds, whose son,
Richard Sykes, also of Leeds, had one son,
Richard Sykes, Alderman of Leeds, and Lord of the Manor, which he purchased
in 1625. He married, January 30th., 1593, Elizabeth Mawson, and had with other
issue, a younger son,
William Sykes, Lord of the Manor of Leeds, married Grace, daughter and co-heiress
of Josias Jenkinson, Esq., of Leeds, and left, among other children,
Daniel Sykes, Esq., born 1632, Mayor of Hull, and a merchant of eminence there,
who left by his wife Deborah, daughter of William Oates, Esq.,
Richard Sykes, Esq., born in 1678, also a merchant of Hull. He married Mary,
daughter and co-heiress of Mark Kirkby, Esq., of Sledmere, and was succeeded by
Richard Sykes, Esq., who built the house at Sledmere, married, firstly, Jane Hobman,
and, secondly, Mrs. Edge, but died without issue, and was succeeded by his brother.
The Rev. Sir Mark Sykes, Rector of Roos, in the East Riding, born in 1711, who
was created a Baronet, March 28th., 1783, leaving, by his wife Decima, daughter of
Twyford Woodham, Gent., of Ely,
Sir Christopher Sykes, D.C.L,, second Baronet, born in 1749, M.P. for Beverley.
He married Elizabeth, daughter of William Tatton, Esq., of Withenshaw, Cheshire,
and was father of
Sir Mark Sykes, third Baronet, whose first wife was Henrietta, daughter and heiress
of Henry Masterman, Esq., of Settrington Hall, near Malton. He married, secondly,
August 2nd., 1814, Mary Elizabeth, sister of Wilbraham Egerton, Esq., but having
no children, was succeeded by his brother.
Sir Tatton Sykes, fourth Baronet, born August 22nd., 1772, who by his wife,
Mary Anne, second daughter of Sir William Eoulis, Bart., left, with other children,
1. Sir Tatton Sykes, fifth Baronet, whose most munificent acts in the way of
building, rebuilding, restoring, endowing, and adorning churches on his very large
estates in the East Riding, will be remembered in Yorkshire for generations to come.
He married, August 3rd., 1874, Christina Anne Jessie, eldest daughter of George
Augustus Cavendish Bentinck, Esq., M.P. for Whitehaven.
2. Christopher Sykes, Esq., of Brantingham Thorpe, M.P. for the East Riding.
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HELMINGHAM HALL,
NEAR DEBENHAM, SUFFOLK. BARON TOLLEMACHB.
This stately residence is situated in the hundred o£ Bosmere and Claydon, four miles
south-east from Debenham^ and eight from Ipswich, in a beautiful park, comprehending
four hundred acres, which contains some of the finest oak-trees in the county, many
of them of great age, and is abundantly stocked with deer, there never being less
than seven hundred head^ among which are some remarkably large stags.
The Hall has been the principal seat of the family of Tollemache from the period
of its erection, and here Sir Lionel Tollemache was honoured by a visit from Queen
Elizabeth, for five days, from August 14th. to the 18th. inclusive, in the year 1561.
Her Majesty was entertained with great splendour and sumptuous hospitality, and
during her visit stood godmother to Sir Lionel's son, and at the same time presented
his mother with a lute, which is still preserved.
Very few innovations have been made in the mansion^ and, with regard to its exterior
appearance, it exists in all its pristine grandeur. It is a quadrangular structure, entirely
of brick, environing a court, and completely surrounded by a terrace and moat. The
approach is by drawbridges^ on the east and south fronts, which are raised every
night.
The family flourished in the greatest repute, and in an uninterrupted male succession
in this county, from the arrival of the Saxons in this kingdom, to 1821, having borne
a conspicuous part in the annals and history of the county for above thirteen hundred
years.
Hugh Talmache, who subscribed the Charter, sans date, but about the reign of King
Stephen, of John de St. John, granted to Eve, the first Abbess of Godstowe, in
Oxfordshire, is the first of the family on record. In his old age he became a monk
at Gloucester, and gave to the Abbey there a moiety of his town of Hampton, which
Peter, his son, confirmed in the time of the first Abbot.
William Talmache gave lands in Bentley and Dodness to the priory of Ipswich,
which gifts were confirmed in the reign of King John. In the twenty-fifth year of
the reign of Edward the First, Sir Hugh de Tolmache held the Manor of Bentley of
the crown, by Knight^s Service, servitium militare.
Sir Lionel Tollemache, of Bentley, who flourished in the reigns of Henry the Sixth
22 HELMINGHAM HALL.
and Edward tlie Fourth, married the heiress of the family of Helmingham, by which
alliance he acquired this estate. His son,
John, was the father of
Lionel, who most probably built the present edifice. He was High Sheriff of the
county, and also of Norfolk, in 1512. In the thirty-eighth year of his reign, King
Henry the Eighth granted him the Manors of Wansden, Le Church Hey, Bury
Hall, Wyllows, and Overhall to hold of the crown by Knight's service. His son,
Lionel, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth, and was High Sheriff of Norfolk and
Suffolk in 1567, He married Dorothy, the daughter of Sir Richard Wentworth, of
Nettlested, and was the father of
Sir Lionel Tollemachb, who was High Sheriff of the above-named counties in 1593.
His son,
Sir Lionel, was High Sheriff of Suffolk in 1609, and was advanced to the dignity
of a Baronet, at the first institution of that Order in 1611, being the twelfth Baronet
in the order of precedency. In 1617 he was again High Sheriff of this county, and
married Catharine the daughter of Henry, Lord Cromwell, of Wimbledon. He was
succeeded in the title and estate by his son.
Sir Lionel Tollemachb, Bart., who lived in great honour and esteem in the
county, and was succeeded by his son,
Sir Lionel, who married Elizabeth, the daughter and heiress of William Murray,
the first Earl of Dysart, by whom he had a son.
Sir Lionel Tollemachb, the fourth Baronet, who, on the death of his mother, in
1696, became the second Earl of Dysart, a title derived from the Royal Borough of
that name in Fifeshire. By the Act of Union, in 1707, he became a Peer of Great
Britain. His Lordship married, in 1680, Grace, the eldest daughter and co-heiress of
Sir Thomas Wilbraham, Bart., of Woodhey, in Cheshire, by which alliance the family
became possessed of vast estates in Cheshire. The second brother of this Earl was
Thomas Tollemache, a gallant and distinguished officer in the reign of King
William the Third. He was killed in an unfortunate attempt to destroy the Harbour
of Brest, 30th, June, 1694, and is buried at Helmingham.
The Earl of Dysart died February 3rd., 1726, and was succeeded by his grandson,
Lionel, the third Earl, who was created a Knight Companion of the most ancient
Order of the Thistle, in 1743. His Lordship died in 1770 and was followed by his
son,
Lionel, the fourth Earl of Dysart, who died at Ham House, the 22nd. of February,
1799, aged sixty-three. His honours and estates then came to his brother,
Wilbraham, the fifth Earl of Dysart, and Baron Huntingtower of the kingdom of
Scotland, and a Baronet, who died at Ham House in 1820, and was succeeded by
Louisa, Countess of Dysart, who died at Ham House in 1841, when the estates
devolved on
John Tollemachb, Esq., for many years M.P. for South Cheshire, created Baron
Tollemache, January 1st., 1876, the son of Admiral Tollemache, nephew of Wilbraham,
fifth Earl of Dysart, and Lady Elizabeth Tollemache, daughter of John, third Earl of
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TRAFALGAR HOUSE,
(late STANDLYNCH,) near SALISBURY, WILTSHIRE. EARL NELSON.
Mr. Yandeput purchased the property of the Bucklands of Standlynch, pulled down
the old house in the valley, and built the present structure in 1733. The property
was purchased in 1814 under an Act of Parliament for the heirs of the conqueror
of Trafalgar. The wings were built by Mr. Dawkins, who purchased the building of
Sir William Young, to whom the Vandeputs sold it, and a portico by Rivett was
added in 1766. The hall, a cube of thirty feet, is decorated with a profusion of
stone carving. The walls of one of the rooms were painted by Cipriani, representing
the family of Sir William Young.
In the park are noble woods of beech, and near the river side is a chapel, rebuilt
in the seventeenth century, said to have been founded as early as 1147. Adjoining
Trafalgar House is Barford, now a farm-house, purchased by the late Earl Nelson, and
formerly the residence of Lord Feversham.
William Nelson, living in the time of Edward the Sixth, came out of Lancashire
and settled in Norfolk. He was father of
Thomas Nelson, of Scarning, Norfolk, born there about the year 1600, whose son,
Edmund Nelson, also born at Scarning in 1625, was father of
William Nelson, of Dunham Parva, Norfolk, born at Scarning in 1654, married
Mary, daughter of Thomas Shene, of the same place, and by her left, at his death,
January 27th., 1713, three sons, of whom the youngest was
The Rev. Edmund Nelson, M.A., Vicar of Sporle, and Rector of Hilborough, Norfolk,
born 1693, who married Mary, daughter of Mr. John Bland, of Cambridge, and had
by her, with other children.
The Rev. Edmund Nelson, M.A., Rector of Hilborough and Burnham Thorpe, in
Norfolk, born in 1722. This gentleman married, May 11th., 1749, Catharine, only
daughter of the Rev. Maurice Suckling, D.D., Prebendary of Westminster, whose wife
was Mary, daughter of Sir Charles Turner, Bart., of Wareham, Norfolk, by his wife
Mary, daughter of Robert Walpole, Esq., of Houghton, Norfolk, and sister of Sir
Robert Walpole, K.G., first Earl of Orford, and of Horatio, Lord Walpole of Wol-
terton. This lady, by her direct descent on the father^s side from the Careys, in
Henry the Eighth's reign, brought a royal descent in three lines from Edward the
24 TRAFALGAR HOUSE.
First to her warrior son. The Rev. Edmund Nelson died April 26tli., 1802, having
had eight children, of whom the fifth son was
Horatio Nelson, first Baron Nelson, the Hero op the Nile, also made a Viscount,
born at the Parsonage House, Burnham Thorpe, September 29th., 1758, married,
March 22nd., 1787, Frances, daughter of William Herbert, Esq., and widow of Josiah
Nisbet, Esq., M.D., but had no children. He died in the hour of victory, October
21st., 1805, when his titles reverted, according to the limitation, to his elder and
only surviving brother, namely.
The Rev. William Nelson, D.D., Prebendary of Canterbury, second Baron and
Viscount Nelson, created, November 20th., 1805, Viscount Merton op Trafalgar and
Earl Nelson, with remainder to his own heirs male, and failing such to the heirs
male of his sister Mrs. Bolton, and failing such to the heirs male of his other sister,
Mrs. Matcham. He married first, November 9th., 1786, Sarah, daughter of the Rev.
Henry Yonge, by whom he had a son, Horatio Viscount Trapalgar, born October
26th., 1788, who died unmarried January 17th., 1808, and a daughter, who succeeded
to the dukedom of Bronte and the property in Sicily attached thereto, which is
still held by her son, the present Viscount Bridport. He married, secondly, March
26th., 1829, Hilare, third daughter of Admiral Sir Robert Barlow, G.C.B,, but died
without further issue, February 28th., 1835, and was succeeded by his nephew,
Thomas Bolton, second Earl, who took in lieu of his patronymic the surname and
arms of Nelson. He married, February 21st., 1821, Frances Elizabeth, daughter and
heiress of John Maurice Eyre, Esq., of Landford and Brickworth, Wiltshire, who,
through her great grandmother, Jane Buckland, of Standlynch, was the lineal descendant
of the ancient Lords of this Manor, and had with other children,
Horatio, third Earl Nelson, born August 7th., 1823, who married, July 28th.,
1845, Mary Jane Diana, only daughter of Welbore, Earl of Normanton, by whom he
had a son and heir,
Herbert Horatio, Viscount Trafalgar, born July 19th., 1854.
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BEOUGHTON CASTLE,
NEAR BANBURY, OXFORDSHIRE. LORD SAYE AND SELE.
Broughton Castle_, tliree miles from Banbury, the seat of Lord Saye and Sele,
is built of the substantial yellow stone of the country.
The house and grounds are completely enclosed by a remarkably fine wide moat,
the only entrance being by a bridge and gateway on the south side. Built by the
De Broughtons in the latter period of Edward the First's reign, the castle and estate
was purchased by William of Wykeham in 1377, and passed by will to Sir Thomas
Wykeham, his great-nephew and heir, whose eventual heiress, Margarette, intermarried
with Lord Saye and Sele who fell at the Battle of Barnet, 1471, and of which
marriage the present Lord Saye and Sele is the heir general.
Sir Thomas and Lady Wykeham lie interred in the chancel of Broughton Church.
At the eastern end of the hall, which is fifty-one feet by twenty-eight, is a beautiful
groined passage leading to the stairs of the chapel and priest's room. Of the deco-
rated early English chapel too much cannot be said in praise. It is of small
dimensions, but lofty, and occupying the height of two of the other stories. In
the southern wall are five small lancet arches, through which the worshippers in the
southern room, above the chapel, could hear and see the ofiiciating priest. A large
aperture also exists for this purpose on the western side. The east end is almost
entirely occupied by a large three-light window, with geometrical tracing. Under the
window is the original altar slab, with the cavity on its north side testifying to its
genuineness. It is of stone, and supported on three brackets. The floor of the
chapel is paved with the original encaustic tiles of good and valuable patterns.
The Hall, though converted from the Medieeval into the Tudor style in 1554, retains
its original plan and proportions. The west end, leading from it, was at the same
time converted into two magnificent rooms, a dining and a drawing room, with pro-
jecting bay windows, and having internally rich renaissance fire-places with splendid
ceilings. In the dining-room is a curious internal porch. These rooms are forty-two
feet by twenty- three each.
At this end a noble staircase ascends to the corridor, eighty-nine feet long, and to
the Council Chamber, in which, between the dissolution of the Short Parliament and the
meeting of the Long Parliament, Pym, Hampden, Oliver, St. John, Lord Brook, Lord
Saye and Sele, the Earls of Bedford, Warwick, and Essex, Nathaniel Fiennes, and
Sir Harry Vane the younger were wont to assemble and take measures to resist the
III. E
26 BROUGHTON CASTLE.
court's arbitrary measures. Near the Council Cliamber a door opens on tlie leads,
whence is a glorious view of the sweeping moat, formed from the junction of three
brooks, and of the hills surrounding the venerable castle.
Taken altogether, Broughton Castle is a most interesting building, whether we
regard the earlier portions of it, or the transition alterations thereof from the
castellated to the domestic period.
Seen either from the north-west or the north-east, the church, the gateway, the
stables, and the castle, with its gables and chimneys, harmonize finely with the
stately trees and moat with which they are surrounded.
King James the First of England and Sixth of Scotland honoured Lord Saye
and Sele by a visit to Broughton Castle in September, 1604, and the sermon
preached by His Majesty's Chaplain, Thomas Playgere, in Broughton Church, is in
print, and speaks of the then abundant harvest.
Lord Saye and Sele, the twentieth in descent from Geofirey, Lord Saye, one of
the twenty-five barons who compelled King John to grant the Great Charter, succeeded
as thirteenth Baron March 31st., 1847, and as a Clergyman of the Church of England
became Archdeacon of Hereford.
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STOWLAN&TOFT HALL,
NEAR BURY ST. EDMUNDS, SUFFOLK. WILSON.
Stowlangtoft was formerly the residence of Sir Simonds D'Ewes, who gives the
following account of its early history: — "On Thursday the 1st. of July (1624) I
perused over divers of the old evidence of the manor of Stowlangtoft with much
delight, having now by my study of records gotten reasonable skill and ability in the
reading of those old hands and characters in which the elder deeds had been written
for about five hundred years past, as well as those which have been past since. By
them I easily discovered that the ancient appellation of the town had been singly
Stow, and that it had been possessed by the family of Langetot from about William
the First's time till the latter end of King John or the beginning of Henry the
Third. Robert de Langetot, son of Richard de Langetot, died without issue male,
leaving Maude de Langetot, his sole daughter and heiress, married to Sir Nicholas
Petche, Knight, who had issue by her Sir John Petche, Knight, (their son and heir),
Sir Reginald Petche, Knight, and Hugh Petche, about which time the manor and
town began to be called Stow de Langetot, a little later Stowlangetot, and lastly, as
it is called to this day, Stowlangtoft. Before I discovered the true origin of the
appellation out of the same ancient evidences, the Townsends themselves, and all
others, had a fond and idle tradition constantly believed and reported amongst them,
that the village was called Stowlangethorne, from a lantern that stood fixed on the
top of the steeple there."
Stowlangtoft was afterwards owned and inhabited by Sir Walter Rawlinson, and
subsequently by Sir George Wombwell, Baronet, from whom it was purchased by
the family of the present owner.
The old hall was pulled down and the present house built in the year 1859, from
the designs of Mr. J. H. Hakewill the architect, Messrs. Cubitt, of Gray^s Inn Road,
being the builders. It is in the Italian style of architecture, and externally of white
brick and stone.
The house stands upon a gentle slope to the south, with cheerful home views all
round; it has a raised terrace on the south and west fronts, that on the south being
two hundred and sixty feet in length, with a lower terrace laid out as an Italian
garden, whence a path leads to the gardens which belonged to the old house, now
some little distance off. The house is entered from the north by a portico, flanked
by a lofty tower, with open campanile of Corinthian columns.
28 STOWLANGTOFT HALL.
A handsome hall of large proportions opens through an arcade o£ three arches
into a corridor^ from which the principal rooms are entered.
The dining-room is a noble room nearly forty feet in length; the drawing-room
nearly the same size; and the library^ with windows to the south and west, a large
and well-proportioned room, fitted up in wainscot, and well stocked. The billiard-room
is entered from the hall.
The principal staircase is approached from the corridor, and is of oak with hand-
some carved newels, the walls hung with tapestry of the seventeenth century,
representing rustic scenes, and a splendid boar hunt by Snyder.
The corridor leads on to the justice room, gun room, waiting room, and garden
entrance, which opens into a glazed colonnade, communicating with the greenhouse.
The efiect of this, as seen from the dining-room, one of the windows of which opens
into the colonnade, is particularly striking.
The hall contains a good collection of pictures, consisting of specimens of the
following artists: — Stanfield, Turner, Crome, Cotman, Constable, Moreland, Wilkie,
Holland, Wilson, Yan Gowen, S. Ruysdael, Cooper, Hurlstone, etc.
The grounds were laid out by Mr. Page, of Southampton, who has skilfully united
the house with the old gardens, which were at some little distance.
The church, a noble example of late decorated architecture, standing within the
park upon rising ground, which is supposed to have been part of a Roman encamp-
ment, contains the old oak carved seats, and chancel stalls quite perfect, and some
^ood painted glass in the windows.
Thomas Wilson, Esq., of Highbury Place, married Miss Mary Eemington, and by
her had
Joseph Wilson, Esq., of Highbury Hill, Middlesex, Little Massingham, Norfolk,
and Stowlangtoft, Suffolk. By his first wife, Mary Anne, eldest daughter of Robert
Maitland, Esq., of Blue Stile, Greenwich, a West India Merchant, whom he married
July 10th., 1792, (his second wife being Emma, eldest daughter of John Welford,
Esq., of Blackheath, married to him February 19th., 1800,) he left a son and heir,
Henry Wilson, Esq., of Stowlangtoft Hall, J.P. and D.L., High Sheriff of Suffolk
in 1845, and M.P. for West Suffolk, born August 27th., 1797, married, first, July
29th., 1824, Mary Fuller, eldest daughter of Ebenezer Fuller Maitland, Esq., of Park
Place, Henley-on-Thames, and secondly. May 18th., 1839, Caroline, only daughter of
the Rev. Lord Henry Fitzroy, Prebendary of Westminster, and Rector of Easton,
Suffolk, brother of His Grace the Duke of Grafton. By his first wife he had a large
family, the eldest son being
Fuller Maitland Wilson, Esq., of Stowlangtoft Hall, J.P., Lieutenant- Colonel
of the West Suffolk Militia, High Sheriff of Suffolk in 1873, born August 27th.,
1825, who married, April 20th., 1852, Agnes Caroline, second daughter of the
Right Honourable Sir R. T. Kindersley, and has several children, the eldest son
being
Arthur Maitland Wilson, born June 16th., 1857.
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CAPESTHORNE,
NEAR CHELFORD^ CHESHIRE. — DAVENPORT.
Capesthornb, the modern seat of the ancient family of Davenport, came into that
familj by marriage with the heiress of the Wards of Capesthorne, A.D. 1721.
The house, built about the same period, was restored and enlarged about 1837,
and in 1861 the centre portion, since rebuilt very nearly on the original plan, was
almost wholly destroyed by fire, together with some fine old furniture, panellings, and
family portraits of interest.
Of the Davenport family, Ormerod says that its history is ''of rare occurrence even
in this county,'^ {i. e. Cheshire, described by Leland as the ''seed plot of knightly
families,'^ and the "mother and nurse of the gentility of England,") "the descent of
a family in one uninterrupted male line from the Norman Conquerors of the palatinate,
possessing at the present day the feudal powers with which the local sovereigns of
that palatinate invested it, and preserving in its own archives, in a series of original
documents, the proofs of its ancient importance, and its unbroken descent."
The ancient seat, described by Leland as "the first and best house of the Davenports
at Davenport, a great house covered with lead on the banks of the Dane, near
Congleton," is now utterly destroyed, and on its site is built the present Davenport
Hall, a modern house of moderate dimensions, which, together with what remained
of the old estate, was alienated by Davies Davenport, the great grandfather of the
present representative, Mr. Bromley Davenport, M.P. for North Warwickshire, and left
to a daughter, who married Mr. Horton, of Catton, to whose family it still belongs.
The situation of Capesthorne is very picturesque, overlooking a chain of pools
supplied from Reedsmere, a fine sheet of water above, on which is still to be seen
the old Floating Island — about an acre in size, which, though now stationary, for many
years formerly used to roam about the mere just as the wind, the trees growing on
it acting as sails, dictated.
The Macclesfield Forest hills and "Cloud End" form an almost Scotch background,
and the old thorn trees in the park are in spring an attraction to many sightseers.
The old feudal rights of this family were very important. The Grand Sergeancy
of the Forests of Macclesfield, an hereditary ofiice still held by Mr. Davenport, con-
ferred the power of life and death over a vast area "without delay and without
appeal" — and at Capesthorne is preserved a long roll, (without date but very ancient,)
containing the names of the master robbers taken and beheaded with their companions
in the times of Vivian, Roger, and Thomas de Davenport.
30 CAPESTHORNE.
There are many pictures of value and interest, especially tlie Giotto, the gem of
the old Bromley collection of ancient Italian masters, a beautiful landscape by
Velasquez, a view of Antwerp by Minderhout, etc., etc.
The library contains many books of extreme rarity and value, and is especially
rich in old Italian literature.
The contents of the deed closets are of great antiquity, and of these and the
manuscripts generally, some account is given in the Report of the Historical Commission
published in 1871.
The first recorded ancestor of this family is Ormus or Orme (living temp. William
the Conqueror), whose son Richard had Marton Manor in frank marriage with Ama-
bilia, daughter of Gilbert Venables, in 1188, from which date to the present the said
manor (adjoining Capesthorne) has never left the possession of the Davenports.
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POWERSCOUET,
NEAR ENNISKERRTj COUNTY OP WICKLOW. VISCOUNT POWERSCOURT.
PowERSCouRT, distant from Bray about four miles, is approaclied by a handsome
arched gateway of granite, and an avenue of beech trees about a mile long, over-
looking the valley of the River Dargle, the name of which is a corruption of the
Celtic "Dah-glen,-"^ the "Valley of the Oaks," from the ancient forest, the remains of
which still exist in the deer park.
The house, built of granite about 1730, presents a Grecian fagade to the north
or entrance front, with a central block and wings, terminated by gateways and
obelisks surmounted by eagles. The south front overlooks the terraces and the view
across the valley to the "Great Sugar-loaf,^' called in Irish "The Silver Spear," a
conical mountain somewhat resembling Vesuvius in form, one thousand six hundred
and fifty feet above the sea, the cone of which is of granite, piercing through the
overlying strata of clay-slate.
The view from the mansion is of great beauty, embracing a panorama of the
Wicklow mountains, and a richly wooded landscape, sloping down to the river.
The house stands upon the sight of the ancient castle of the O'Tooles, and the
estate was granted by Queen Elizabeth to Sir Richard Wingfield, Marshal of Ireland,
created first Viscount Powerscourt, for services rendered to the Crown in subduing
the lawless Septs that inhabited this district during her reign.
The house is entered in the north front by a large but low entrance hall, filled with
armour and stags' heads, whence the principal staircase leads to the saloon, which
is over the entrance hall, both being of the same dimensions, sixty feet by forty.
The saloon, however, runs up to the roof of the house, two stories high, and is forty
feet in height. The upper part of it has two galleries, supported by Ionic columns,
and it is lighted from these galleries, which communicate with the bedroom floor.
Groups of statuary are placed between the columns, and the floor is of chesnut
wood. In this saloon King George IV. was entertained at a banquet by the present
Viscount's grandfather, on the occasion of his visit to Ireland in 1821. The chimney-
piece is modern, designed by Pegrazzi of Verona, from one in the Doge's Palace
at Venice; and the bronze fire-dogs, fender, etc., came from a palace there, and are
attributed to John of Bologna.
There is a curious old harpsichord in this room, exhibited at South Kensington in
1872, dated 1612, and painted inside and out by Vandermeulen with subjects taken
from the sieges of various towns in the wars of Louis the Fourteenth. It is also
32 ■ POWERSCOURT.
marked as having been restored by Pascal Taskin, in 1774, and it was purchased
from the Bankers Torlonia at Rome, in 1841, as having belonged to Marie Antoinette,
by the present Yiscount's father.
The two drawing-rooms open from the saloon, on the south front of the house, and
contain pictures by Rembrandt, Titian, Tintoretto, Guercino, etc.
Below the drawing-rooms, on the ground floor, are the dining-room, morning room,
and library. The dining-room contains pictures principally of the modern French
and Belgian schools, by Rosa Bonheur, Corot, Achenbach, etc. In the morning room
are two interesting pictures, one of Marshal Sir Richard Wingfield, first Viscount
Powerscourt, and one of his uncle Sir Anthony Wingfield, K.G. This latter picture
is mentioned in the Letters of the Honourable Horace Walpole (Lord Orford),
Letter XXVIH. to Richard Bentley, Esq. The story told about the picture (painted
by Holbein) was that the housekeeper, in showing the house at Letheringham, in
SuSblk, used to say that Sir Anthony had had his thumb cut oQ" for striking some
one in the king's presence. The picture shows the thumb tucked into the girdle,
and the housekeeper probably invented the story, to account for the thumb being
hidden by the girdle. The story, however, is sufficient to identify the picture, which
was purchased by Frederick, fourth Marquis of Londonderry, at the sale of Mr.
Dawson Turner's pictures at Messrs. Christie and Manson^s in 1852, and given to the
present Viscount, his step-son. The other pictures in this room are also family portraits.
The terraces on the south front, commenced in 1842, were designed by Mr.
Daniel Robertson, from the plan of the Villa Butera, in Sicily. The upper terrace,
of granite, is about three hundred yards long, opening at the west end into the
gardens, and is ornamented with marble statues and vases. Below this is a second
terrace, formed in grass slopes, with a central flight of steps, and an alcove in
granite, decorated with bronze vases and two cinque-cento bronze Tritons, spouting
water into a basin. These two figures came from the collection of Prince Jerome
Napoleon Bonaparte, and were sold by him after the burning of the Palais Royal,
in Paris, by the Communists in 1870. They formerly belonged to the palace of the
Duke de Litta at Milan.
The surrounding grounds are planted with choice coniferous and other trees and
shrubs. The deer park is a deep glen, containing the highest waterfall in the British
Islands. The surrounding woods are the remains of the original self-sown oak forest
which anciently covered a great portion of this part of Ireland.
The family of Wingfield, from which Lord Powerscourt descends, is described by
Camden as "famous for their knighthood and ancient nobility,'^ and stated to have
been settled at Wingfield, in the county of Suffolk, before the Conquest. The senior
line became extinct, but the junior derives from
Sir Robert Wingfield, Knight of the Holy Sepulchre, greatly distinguished in the
civil wars in Ireland, over which country he was appointed Marshal by Queen Elizabeth
in 1600, which office was confirmed to him by James the First.
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STUDLEY CASTLE,
NEAR STUDLEY, W ARWICKSHIRE.-^-W ALKEE.
At the Conquest the parish of Studley was entirely in possession of William, son
of Corbicon, whose son Peter passed it away with his daughter in marriage to
Henry de Montfort. It afterwards came into possession of William Beauchamp,
Lord Abergavenny, and eventually was possessed by the Knights Templars. The
above-named Peter founded a Priory of regular Augustine Canons here in the reign
of King Stephen, which was so amply endowed that in 1399 the monks were enabled
to begin rebuilding the church constructed at their foundation. After the dissolution
of this priory, the site of the monastery, with the manor of Studley, were granted to
Sir Edmund Knightley, Sergeant-at-Law in the 30th. of Henry the Eighth, and it
subsequently passed by marriage to John Knotsford, Sergeant-at-Arms. The remains
are now occupied as a farmhouse, and several tenements, occupied by labourers on
the estate, have been constructed out of the ruins of the old castle.
The present magnificent structure was erected by the late Sir Francis Lyttleton
Holyoake Goodricke, about the year 1830, from whom the property was purchased by
the father of the present proprietor.
The Castle, which is in the pure Norman style of architecture, is built entirely of
native stone, and seated on a commanding eminence, sixteen miles south of
Birmingham, fifteen east of Worcester, fourteen west of Warwick, and fifteen west of
of Leamington.
Placed in a finely timbered park of eight hundred acres, very extensive and
charming views over Warwickshire and Worcestershire are obtained from the terraces
along the south front of the Castle, from whence also the river Arrow may be seen
winding its way.
The mansion comprises centre and two wings, and forms three sides of a quadrangle,
the fourth being enclosed as a courtyard, by a dwarf turreted wall, entered through
massive iron gates with noble entrance and porte cochere.
The entrance hall opens to a vestibule occupying the whole of the principal tower,
one hundred feet high, and from this open the principal reception rooms, dining hall
saloon, octagon library, small round towers, etc.
The east wing is entirely appropriated to the family apartments, and the west
contains billiard room, gun room, servants' offices, etc., etc., etc.
III. F
34 ' STUDLEY CASTLE.
The grand staircase, (whidi is of polislied oak, as are all tlie floors,) leads to
tlie great gallery, round tlie octagon tower, wliicli opens to tlie visitors' rooms, and
corridors from this gallery communicate with the wings of the mansion.
The principal rooms form a noble suite, and open to a broad gravel terrace, looking
upon the park and ornamental waters and the beautiful lawns and pleasure grounds,
which abound with luxuriant flowering shrubs, evergreens, and ornamental trees of
fine growth, and are studded with forest timber.
The district is the most beautiful part of Warwickshire, on the border of Worces-
tershire, beautifully undulated, and thickly timbered, being part of the ancient forest
of Arden.
Here are some of the choicest examples of Titian, Guido, Landseer, Rosa Bonheur,
Goodall, Maclise, Heywood-Hardy, Lance, David Cox, etc.
One of the greatest ornaments of the castle is the magnificent service of Malachite
and Gold, from the collection of the late Prince Demidofi", which was brought here
with many other works of art from San Donato.
In old times there was a deer park attached to the Castle, but herds of High-
land cattle have now taken the place of their fleeter, but not more picturesque
predecessors.
Thomas Eades Walker, Esq., the present proprietor of Studley Castle, elder son
of Thomas Walker, Esq., of Berkswell Hall, in the same county, born in 1843, was
educated at Harrow and Christ Church, Oxford, and elected M.P. for East Worces-
tershire at the general election in 1874. He is descended from an old Warwickshire
family, who have been landowners in this county for many generations, but which
owes its present position to the genius and great business capability of the father
of the present owner of Studley, who was for many years largely interested in the
iron trade of the Midland Counties.
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ESHTON HALL,
NEAR SKIPTON, YORKSHIRE. — WILSON, BARONET.
EsHTON Hall, formerly the residence of the ''De Esshetons^' (Ranulf de Bston
was living in 1186, and John de Eston contested the right to the Earldom and estates
of Albemarle with King Edward the First,) passed into the Clifford property, and
was sold by George, Earl of Cumberland, in 1597, to Robert Bindloss, Esq., of
Borick, and in 1646 the hall, estate, and manor were sold by Sir Robert Bindloss,
Bart., to Mathew Wilson, of Kendal, a merchant clothier, and Blackwell Hall, factor,
of Coleman Street, in the City of London, ancestor of the present owner.
The house, rebuilt by his father in 1825-6, from designs by the late George Webster,
of Kendal, architect, is of white freestone, on an eminence that commands a beautiful
home view, is entered by a portal consisting of massive piers, faced with Doric on
the basement, and surmounted by Ionic pilasters, finishing at the summit by a pierced
battlement and rich scroll-work. The entrance is thirty feet by twenty feet, opening
by folding doors on a handsome saloon; staircase of carved oak, thirty feet square,
lighted by a dome; on the right the dining-room, thirty-six feet by twenty-four feet;
beyond this the morning-room, twenty feet square; on the left the library, forty feet
by twenty -four feet, with a bay-window, and communicating by folding doors with the
drawing-room, thirty-four feet by twenty-four feet, with a bay-window: all these rooms
are sixteen feet high. The billiard-room is behind the staircase, thirty feet by twenty
feet, opening into the staircase and into the drawing-room, and by the bay-window
into the flower garden. The library and drawing-room fitted up as a library, contain
ten thousand volumes, especially rich in topography, collected by the late Miss
Richardson-Currer, Sir Mathew Wilson's half-sister. There are portfolios of engravings,
articles of vertu in marble, bronze, nola vases, cabinets, and china; a good collection.
of pictures by old masters, and family portraits.
The family of Wilson descends from
Robert Wilson, Esq., of Brigsteare, Haversham, Westmoreland, and Alice his wife.
Their son,
Mathew Wilson, Esq., became possessed of Eshton Hall by purchase, as above
stated. He died in London in 1656, and was succeeded by
36 ESHTON HALL.
John Wilson, Esq., of Eshton Hall, wlio, by his wife Dorothy, was father of, with
other younger children,
Mathew Wilson, Esq., of Eshton Hall, married June 28th., 1699, Anne, daughter
of Timothy Blackburne, Esq., of Blackburne Hall, in Swaledale, Yorkshire, and was
succeeded by bis son,
Mathew Wilson, Esq., of Eshton Hall, baptized October 14th., 1706, who married
Margaret, daughter of Henry Wiglesworth, Esq., of Slaidburn, and had, with other
issue, his heir,
Mathew Wilson, Esq., of Eshton Hall, Barrister-at-Law, born February 12th.,
1730. He married July 7th,, 1759, Frances, daughter of Eichard Clive, Esq., of
Styche, Salop, M.P. for Montgomeryshire, and sister of Robert Clive, first Lord
Clive. By her he left a daughter, Margaret Clive Wilson, who married, first,
February 3rd., 1783, the Rev. Henry Richardson, M.A., Rector of Thornton, (who
assumed the surname and arms of Currer,) and died 10th. November, 1784, leaving
only a daughter, she married secondly, November 20th., 1800, her cousin,
Mathew Wilson, Esq., born August 10th., 1722, who thus became of Eshton
Hall, and had issue.
Sir Mathew Wilson, J.P. and D.L., M.P. for the Northern Division of the West
Riding of Yorkshire, born August 29th., 1802, created a Baronet in 1874. He
married, June 15th., 1826, Sophia Louisa Emerson Amcotts, only daughter and
co-heiress of Sir Wharton Emerson Amcotts, Bart., of Kettlethorpe Park, Lincolnshire,
by his second wife, Amelia Theresa Campbell, and has a son,
Mathew Wharton Wilson, born 20th. March, 1827, formerly of the 11th. Hussars,
married, 13th. November, 1850, Gratiana Mary, only daughter of Admiral Richard
Thomas, of Stonehouse, and has a son, Mathew Amcotts, 1st. West York Rifles, born
2nd. January, 1853, married 8th. October, 1874, Georgina Mary, eldest daughter of
Richard T. Lee, Esq., of Grove Hall, Yorkshire.
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CAEN WOOD TOWERS,
HIGHQATE, MIDDLESEX. — BROOKE.
This beautiful edifice^ built on the site of the Fitzroy Farm and Dufferin Lodge,
(the late residence of Lord Dufferin,) has been recently erected by its present pro-
prietor, Mr. Edward Brooke. The house is of a highly ornamented character
throughout, and the interior especially is richly decorated with carving. The ante-
hall is laid with black and white marble, and the chimney-pieces here and in other
rooms are richly carved from designs by the architects. "The ceilings of the
dining-rooms, the halls, the morning room, and library are of panelled wainscot,
moulded and carved, with an elaborately-carved chimney-piece in the dining-room,
also of wainscot, worked up to the ceiling. On either side of the dining-room
chimney-piece are windows looking into a fernery, with fountains. The upper portion
of the windows above the transome is fitted with stained glass of a geometrical
pattern. The staircase windows are filled with stained glass; the large one with
the armorial bearings of the Brooke family for eighteen generations; the side lights,
with subjects from Tennyson's poems.'" In the windows of the billiard-room are
representations of various out-door sports and pastimes, as hunting, cricket, archery,
etc., also in stained glass.
''The morning room is lined with old Cordova leather, brought from Antwerp,
which was put up in a mansion there when Antwerp was under Spanish rule: it is in
a fine state of preservation. The ceiling of this room is decorated to agree with the
leather, the upper portions of the windows being fitted with designs of the seasons;
the frieze of the cornice having heads modelled from Scriptural subjects.^'
Highgate, in such near proximity to the city of London, is rich in historical asso-
ciations, and especially has it been, for many generations, the retreat of literary men.
Coleridge lived for some time here, at the latter part of his life, "looking down,^^ as
Carlyle says, "on London and its smoke-tumult, like a sage escaped from the inanity
of life's battle, attracting towards him the thoughts of innumerable brave souls still
engaged there, — ^heavy laden, high aspiring, and surely much-suffering men." Mac
Dowell the sculptor. Dr. Southwood Smith, and Mr. David Williams, the founder of
the Literary Fund, were also residents of this place. Andrew Marvell, the patriot
representative of Hull, the friend and benefactor of Milton, and the first to discover
and make known the genius of "Paradise Lost,'' had a house at Highgate. These
are but a few of the literati of past generations who have honoured this suburban
38 CAEN WOOD TOWERS.
village with their presence; while to-day it is the adopted residence of many of their
successors in the world of science and letters.
Here^ about the year 1630, Cromwell built for himself "Cromwell House/' where,
however, it is thought he paid but occasional visits. Prickett, the historian of
Highgate, says that this residence of the Protector's "was evidently built and inter-
nally ornamented in accordance with the taste of its military occupant. The staircase,
which is of handsome proportions, is richly decorated with oaken carved figures,
supposed to be of persons in the general's army, in their costume; and the balus-
trade filled in with devices emblematical of warfare. On the ceiling of the drawing-
room are the arms of General Ireton: this and the other ceilings of the principal
apartments are enriched in conformity with the fashion of those days. The proportions
of the noble rooms, as well as the brickwork in front, well deserve the notice and
study of the antiquary and the architect."
The chapel of Highgate, which occupied the site of a hermit's cell, was granted
by Bishop Grindal, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1565, to a new gi-ammar
school, erected and endowed the year before by Sir Roger Cholmeley, late Lord
Chief Justice. This was pulled down many years ago, and the church built in
another part of the village. Among the tombs was that of Coleridge, the poet and
philosopher. The present church was built in 1832, at a cost of £10,000, in the
parish of St. Pancras; but shortly afterwards Highgate was made a district of itself.
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BIEE CASTLE,
PARSONSTOWN, KING'S COUNTY^ IRELAND. EARL OF ROSSE.
The castle o£ Birr was considered to be tlie chief seat of the O'Carrols, chieftains
of the Sept. A great battle was fought in the vicinity in 241, between Cormac,
son of Conn of the Hundred Battles, and the people of Munster. The place suffered
much from the ravages of the Danes in 841 and 842; and in 1154, O'Hedergool,
King of Cathlingie, was killed at the church-door. On the breaking out of the
war of 1641, William Parsons was made governor of Ely O'Carrol and Birr Castle,
which he garrisoned with his own tenantry. The next year an engagement took
place between the garrison and the Sept of the O'Carrols; and in the same year,
1642, the castle was besieged by the Irish, but was relieved by Sir Charles Coote,
who threw into it a supply of ammunition and provisions. This action was deemed
so important, that it procured for Sir Charles the dignity of Earl of Mountrath.
But in the following year the place fell into the hands of General Preston, commander
of the forces of the Confederate Catholics in Leinster, who kept possession of it
till it was taken by Ireton in 1650; and a subsequent attempt by the Marquis of
Clanricarde, to recover it for the King, was baffled by the approach of Colonel
Axtell. At the time of the Restoration it seems that the place was of some commercial
importance {Birr town), from the number of brass tokens then coined for the conve-
nience of trade. In the war of 1688 the castle was besieged by Colonels Grace
and Oxburgh, and surrendered in terms which were afterwards made grounds of
accusation against Sir Lawrence Parsons, the governor. He was found guilty of high
treason, but received a pardon after several reprieves. At this period Birr is mentioned
by Sir William Petty as sending two members to Parliament. In 1689, the Roman
Catholic clergymen took possession of the tithes and glebe, which they held till the
battle of the Boyne. In 1690 the castle was besieged by General Sarsfield, the Duke
of Berwick, and Lord Galway; but the siege was raised by Sir John Lanier for King
WiUiam. A meeting of delegates from several volunteer corps was held in 1781, and
again in 1782, at which strong resolutions were passed relative to the great questions
which then absorbed public attention.
The late Lord Rosse, who devoted much time and thought to studies connected with
astronomy, and other branches of science, had a laboratory, with machinery for polishing
the largest specula for telescopes, by means of which he constructed a reflector of
40 BIRR CASTLE.
twenty-seven feet focal lengtli, tlie great speculum of wWcli is three feet in diameter,
and another of fifty-three feet focal length and six feet diameter, still the largest in
the world. The telescopes stand on the lawn in front of Birr Castle, and are
moved by machinery which also was the invention of his lordship. The smaller one
has been carried by a mounting similar in principle to that of Herschel's celebrated
telescope, which, however, is now being replaced by a more modern structure.
The family of Lord Rosse descends from Lawrence Parsons, Esq., Attorney-General
for the Province of Munster in 1612.
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ARBURY HALL,
NEAR NUNEATON^ WARWICKSHIRE. NEWDEGATE.
This mansion was raised on the ruins of an ancient priory, and is indebted to the
tasteful exertions of the late Sir Roger Newdegate, Bart., for such improvements as
render it a most elegant specimen of the compendious Gothic style. The house is
seated in the midst of a fine and extensive park, well wooded and adorned with
artificial expanses of water. The approach on the north is through a long and mag-
nificent avenue of trees, the lines of which, rich in various foliage, are broken in a
manner judiciously conducive to the picturesque. The exterior of the building is
entirely cased with stone, and each front presents a separate design of architectural
beauty, though all are consistent in general character.
The whole range of principal apartments is finished in the most costly style, and
combines a selection of the more beautiful parts of Gothic architecture, made with
exquisite taste. The ceiling of the dining room is enriched with pendant ornaments,
and supported with taper pillars. In niches, delicately canopied, are placed good casts
from the antique; and in a recess at the farther end is inserted the top of a sarco-
phagus, brought by Sir Robert Newdegate from Rome, on which is sculptm^ed the
marriage of Bacchus and Ariadne. The drawing room is of moderate but pleasing
proportions, and is ornamented in a style particularly chaste. Inserted in the panels
of this room are five whole-length family portraits, and different armorial bearings
are introduced, on small shields in the tracery work of the ceiling. The fine bay
window of the saloon looks into the gardens, which are extensive and disposed with
much elegance. The ceiling of this apartment is elaborately worked in imitation of
King Henry the Seventh^s Chapel. In the room adjoining the saloon is the well-
known picture of which an engraving is given in the antiquities of Warwickshire.
This curious painting commemorates the achievements of Sir John de Astley, con-
cerning whom Dugdale thus writes: — ''Of the PatshuU branch of the Astley family
was John de Astley, who, on the 29th. of August, 1438, maintaining a duel on
horseback, within the street called Antoine, in Paris, against one Peter de Masse, a
Frenchman, in the prescence of Charles the Seventh, King of France, pierc't the
said Peter through the head, and had (as by the articles betwixt them conditioned)
the helmit of the said Peter being so vanquish'd, to present unto his lady. And on
the 30th. of January, 20 of Henry the Sixth, undertook another fight in the Smythfield,
within the city of London, in the prescence of the same King Henry the Sixth, with
III. - a
42 ARBURY HALL.
Sir Philip Boyle, an Arragonian Knight, who having been in France, by the King
his master's command, to look out some hardy person against whom he might try
his skill in feats of armes, and missing there of his desires, repaired hither. After
which combate ended (being gallantly performed on foot, with battil-axes, speares,
swords, and daggers), he was knighted by the King, with an annuity of one hundred
marks during his life. Nay, so famous did he grow for his valour, that he was elected
Knight of the Garter.''
This family represents, through an heiress, the ancient and knightly race of the
name descending from John de Newdegate, living in the third year of the reign of
Edward the Third. In the male line it descends as follows: —
William Parker, Esq., of Salford Priors, in the county of Warwick, married
Millicent Newdigate, daughter of Sir Richard Newdigate, Bart., of Arbury, in the
same shire, and Harefield, Middlesex, and on the failure of the male line of the said
family in the person of Sir Roger Newdigate, LL.D., the fifth Baronet, M.P. for
Middlesex, 1742, and for the University of Oxford from 1750 for many following
years. Pounder of the Prize for the popular "Newdigate" Poem, who died without
issue November 23rd., 1806, the estates came to his descendants. Their third son,
Charles Parker, Esq., of Arbury and Hai^efield, married Jane, daughter of Sir John
Anstruther, Bart., and died Apiil 24th., 1795, leaving, with other issue, an eldest son,
Charles Newdigate Parker, Esq., of Harefield, who assumed by Royal License
the surname and arms of Newdegate only. He married, April 15th., 1815, Maria,
daughter of Ayscoghe Boucherett, Esq., of Willingham House and Stallingborough,
Lincolnshire, and dying April 23rd., 1833, left an only son and successor,
Charles Newdigate Newdegate, of Arbury and Harefield, (the former of which
estates he came into possession of on the death of his uncle, Francis Newdigate,
Esq., of Kirk Hallam, Derbyshire, 1835,) J.P., D.L., D.C.L., M.P. for Warwickshire
for many years, born July 14th., 1816.
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WEOXTON ABBEY,
NEAR BANBURY, OXFORDSHIRE. NORTH.
This place formerly belonged to canons regular of St. Augustine, but tbe original
buildings having been destroyed by fire, the present extensive and very noble mansion
was erected on its site, about the commencement of the seventeenth century. It has
since, at different times, received various additions and improvements, in all of which
the ancient baronial character of the edifice has been scrupulously preserved. The
same may be said of the gardens and pleasure-grounds, whose monastic features will
still be viewed with particular interest, as here no innovating hand has ever been
allowed to intrude.
The building is of an ornamental and interesting character, though it is not com-
pleted according to the original design, as an intended wing on the south side was
commenced. The Lord Keeper made some additions, and a library has lately been
erected after a plan by Mr. Smirke.
The chapel is a room beautified by the first Earl of Guilford.
The estate came into the possession of the family of North, by the marriage of
Francis, Lord Keeper Guilford, with Lady Frances Pope, sister to the fourth and
last Earl of Downe.
The mansion is enriched by many ancient portraits of the families of Pope and
North. Among the former is an original of Sir Thomas Pope, founder of Trinity
College, Oxford, and uncle of the first Earl of Downe. Of the latter there is a
complete series of Lords North, from Edward, the first Lord, created in the reign
of Philip and Mary, to the present time.
The church of Wroxton contains many monuments which demand notice. On a
black marble gravestone is an inscription to "'Elizabeth, late wife of Francis Lord
Guilford, and one of the daughters of the Right Honourable Fulke Lord Brooke."
She died in 1699. Another gravestone of a similar description, commemorates
Francis Lord Guilford himself, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, born October 22nd.,
1637, died September 5th., 1685. On the north side of the chancel is a magnificent
tomb, with the recumbent eflS.gies of William Pope, first Earl of Downe, and his lady.
On the same side of the chancel is a marble tablet affixed to the wall, surmounted
with angels, to the memory of the Lady of the Lord Keeper Guilford. On the south
wall of the chancel is a monument to Francis, Earl of Guilford, and his three wives.
Immediately adjoining is an elegant monument, lately erected to the memory of the
44 WROXTON ABBEY.
Prime Minister^ Lord North, wlio had succeeded to the Earldom of Guilford a short
time prior to his death. In a niche to the right of the communion rails is a brass
plate, formerly attached to a gravestone, with this inscription: "Here lyeth under this
stone buryed, Margaret Bostarde, widowe, sometime the wyf of William Pope, of
Dedington, in the county of Oxford, Gent., and afterwards married to John Bostarde,
of Atterbury; which William and Margaret were father and mother to Sir Thomas
Pope, Knight, and John Pope, Esq." She died in 1557. The church likewise
contains a monument of one of the family of Sacheverell.
The family of North descends in the male line from
William Doyle, Esq., of Clonmoney, in the county of Carlow, who married Jane,
daughter of Howard Egan, Esq., and left a son,
Charles Doyle, Esq., of Bramblestown, in the county of Kilkenny. He married
Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. Nicholas Milley, and left at his decease, in 1769,
with several other children, an eldest son,
William Doyle, Esq., Barrister-at-Law, King's Counsel, and Master in Chancery in
Ireland. This gentleman married twice, and by his second wife, Cecilia, daughter of
General Silvani, of the Austrian Service, left, with other issue, two sons, of whom
the elder,
Lieutenant-General Sir Chakles William Doyle, K.C.B., K.C., K.C.S., G.C.H.,
who married, first in 1803, Sophia Cramer, daughter of Sir John Coghill, Baronet,
by whom he had three sons and a daughter. The second son,
Colonel John Sidney Doyle, M.P. for Oxfordshire in 1852, 1857, 1865, etc., J. P.
and D.L. for Oxfordshire, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Oxfordshire Rifle Volunteers,
pi^eviously Lieutenant-Colonel of the Irish Fusiliers, born 1804, married, in 1835,
Susan, Baroness North, in her own right, daughter and co-heiress of George Augustus,
third Earl of Guilford, and ninth Baron North. He assumed in 1838 the surname
of North in lieu of his patronymic. His eldest son,
William Henry John North, of Kirtling, in Cambridgeshire, Lieutenant in the
First Life Guards, and Captain in the Queen's Own Oxfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry,
born October 5th., 1836, married, January 12th., 1858, Frederica, daughter of Richard
Howe Cockerell, Esq., Commander R.N., and had, with several other children,
William Frederick John North, born October 13th., 1860,
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COUGHTON COURT,
NEAR ALCESTER, WARWICKSHIRE. THROCKMORTON, BARONET.
CouGHTON is situated between Icknield Street and the river Arrow, about two miles
from Alcester, in a finely wooded country, diversified by hills.
In the time of the Conqueror it was in the possession of Turchill de Warwick.
It was afterwards held by a family who assumed their surname from hence. Simon
de Cocton, or Coughton, left two daughters, one of whom, Joan, was married to
William de Spineto, whereby this lordship came, by partition, to the Spiney family.
Guy de la Spine left issue two daughters, one of whom, Alianore, married John, the
son of Thomas Throckmorton, Esq., by which marriage, this lordship of Coughton,
coming to the line of Throckmorton, hath continued therein to this day. This John
died in 1455.
The original seat of this family was at Throckmorton, in the parish of Fladbury,
in Worcestershire, which is still in their possession.
Some part of the house at Coughton was built when held by the Spineys. It was
a quadrangle built round a court, and surrounded by a moat. The tower was erected
by Sir George Throckmorton, in the reign of Henry the Eighth. The entrance
formerly was over a bridge, which crossed the moat, and through the gateway of
the tower into the quadrangle.
Considerable alterations were made in the building, by Sir Francis Throckmorton,
in the time of Charles the Second. It had been previously plundered by the
Parliament forces, and the proprietor. Sir Robert, the fii'st Baronet, was ejected,
and resided at Worcester.
About the year 1780, Sir Robert Throckmorton took down one side of the
quadrangle, filled up the moat, enclosed the gateway, fitting it up as a hall, and
made several alterations in the building. In this hall are painted on the windows
the arms of the Throckmortons, impaling those of several families connected with
them.
The Baronetcy in this ancient family dates from the year 1642, and has so continued
to the ninth Baronet, namely.
Sir Nicholas William Throckmorton, of Coughton Court, born April the 26th.,.
1838.
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EUSTON HALL,
NEAR FAKENHAM, SDPFOLK. — DUKE OP GRAFTON.
EusTON Hall is a large commodious mansion built of red brick, and destitute of
superfluous decorations either within or without.
The house is surrounded by trees of uncommon growth, and of healthy and
luxuriant appearance; near it glides the river Ouse, over which is thrown a neat
and substantial wooden bridge. The scenery about this mansion combines the most
delightful assemblage of rural objects, and is justly celebrated by the author of the
"Farmer's Boy:" —
"Where noble Grafton spreads his rich domains,
Bound Euston's water'd vale and sloping plains;
"Where woods and groves in solemn grandeur rise."
The estate of Euston is of very considerable extent, its circumference being
between thirty and forty miles, and embracing a great number of villages and
hamlets.
On an elevated situation in the park stands the Temple. This elegant structure,
designed for a banqueting house, was built by the celebrated Kent, under the auspices
of the late Duke of Grafton, who laid the first stone himself in 1746. It is in
the Grecian style of architecture, and consists of an upper and lower apartment,
forming a pleasing object from many points of view in the neighbourhood of Euston,
and commanding an extensive prospect.
Fakenham Wood, the scene of the well-known tale of the ''Fakenham Ghost,''
near Euston Hall, is perhaps the largest in the county, and covers three hundred
and fourteen acres.
The ducal family of Grafton descends from
Henry Fitzroy, second son of His Majesty King Charles the Second, by Barbara
Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland, who was followed in succession by
Charles Fitzroy, second Duke,
Augustus Henry Fitzroy, third Dake,
48 . EUSTON HALL.
George Henry Fitzroy, fourth Duke,
Henry Fitzroy, fifth Duke,
William Henry Fitzroy, sixth Duke, born August 4th., 1819, married, February
10th., 1858, to the Honourable Mary Louise Anne Baring, daughter of Francis Baring,
third Lord Ashburton.
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SEZINCOT,
NEAK MORTON-IN-THE-MARSH^ GLOUCESTERSHIRE. — RUSHOUT^ BARONET.
This elegant mansion is situated about two miles and a half from the town of
Morton, about seven from Camden, and nineteen miles north-east from the city of
Gloucester. It was entirely erected by Sir Charles Cockerell, Baronet, in the style of
the splendid palaces of the East. The grounds are varied and beautiful, and the whole
are laid out with very great taste and judgment; a part is called the Thornery. These
have been embellished with a variety of ornamental buildings erected in the most
picturesque situations. The Welhngton Pillar, the Temple, the Bridge, and Fountain
are from designs by Thomas Daniell, Esq., R.A.
John Cockerell, Esq., of Bishop^s Hall, near Taunton, Somersetshire, was father of
Sir Charles Cockerell, created a Baronet, September 25th., 1809, for his eminent
services as a civil servant in India from 1776 to 1800. He was subsequently a
Member of Parliament for more than thirty years. He married, first, March 11th.,
1789, Maria Tryphena, daughter of Sir Charles William Blunt, Bart., by whom he had
no issue; and secondly, February 13th., 1808, the Honourable Harriet Eushout,
daughter of John, first Lord Northwick, and had
Sir Charles Cockerell, born June 11th., 1809, who took, by royal license, the
surname and arms of Rushout, the latter quarterly with his own. He married, August
5th., 1834, the Honourable Cecilia Olivia Geraldine Foley, daughter of Thomas, third
Lord Foley, and had, with other children.
Sir Charles Fitzgerald Rushout, Captain in the Royal Horse Guards, born July
13th., 1840. He married, July 15th., 1865, Mary Alice Wentworth Pennant, only
child of David Pennant, Esq., and had, with other issue, a son and heir,
Charles Hamilton Rushout, born June 21st., 1868.
Cecilia Blanche, born 2nd. October, 1870.
Georgina Mary, born 3rd. September, 1872.
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KIMBOLTON CASTLE,
KIMBOLTON^ HUNTINGDONSHIRE. DUKE OP MANCHESTER.
"The east side of the county,'^ says Cudd, "is adorned with the castle of Kinni-
bantum, now Kimbolton, anciently the seat of the Mandevilles, afterwards of the
Bohuns and StafFords, and now of the Wingfields/^ Sir Richard Wingfield, K.G.,
twelfth son of Sir John Wingfield, of Letheringham, in Suffolk^ Knight, and Chancellor
of the Duchy of Lancaster, married, first, Katharine, daughter of Richard, Earl Rivers,
and widow of Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, after whose attainder he obtained
a grant of Kimbolton Castle and Lordship from Henry the Eighth, with whom he
was highly in favour. He dying whilst Ambassador in Spain, was buried at Toledo,
and his son. Sir James, sold Kimbolton to Sir Henry Montagu, afterwards first Earl
of Manchester, whose lineal descendant, the present Duke of Manchester, is now owner.
Kimbolton Castle, the seat of the Earls and Dukes of Manchester, is of unknown
but very remote origin. "The Castle," says Leland, "is double diked, and the building
of it metely strong: it longed to the Mandevilles, Erles of Essex. Sir Richard Wing-
field built new fair lodgyns and galleries upon the old foundation of the castle. There
is a plotte now clene desolated not a mile by west from Kimbolton, called Castle Hill,.
where appear ditches and tokens of old buildings." This Castle was the jointure and
became the retirement of Queen Catharine after her divorce from Henry the Eighth.
Henry, first Earl of Manchester, expended large sums in making it a comfortable
residence; and Robert, his grandson, the third Earl, made further and very considerable
alterations and many additions.
Thomas Montagu, Gentleman, who lies buried at Hemington, in Northamptonshire,,
was father of
Sir Edward Montagu, the immediate ancestor of the Earls and Dukes of Manchester.
He was born in Brigstock, in that county. In 1547, he was one of the commissioners
of claim at the young king's coronation. On the accession of Queen Mary, he was
dismissed from his oflB.ce of Judge, and imprisoned in the Tower, for his concern in
the settlement of the crown upon Lady Jane Grey. He died in February, 1556-7,
and was succeeded by his eldest son.
Sir Edward Montagu, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1567, and died in
January, 1601. His successor was his third surviving son.
Sir Henry Montagu, the purchaser of Kimbolton, who, like his grandfather, was
52 KIMBOLTON CASTLE.
bred to the law in the Middle Temple, and became one of its chief luminaries.
After various promotions, he was advanced to the dignity of Lord High Treasurer by-
King James the First, in December, 1620. About a fortnight afterwards he was
created a Baron, by the title of Lord Montagu of Kimbolton and Viscount Mandeville.
In February, 1626, he was advanced to the dignity of Earl of Manchester. He died
in November, 1642. His eldest son,
Edward Montagu, succeeded to the title and estates. This was the celebrated
Parliamentary General, who was afterwards Chamberlain to King Charles the Second.
His eldest sou, by the second of his five wives, by whom alone he had issue,
Robert Montagu, succeeded him. He had been one of the six Lords, members of
the House of Commons, deputed to wait on Prince Charles at the Hague, and invito
him to return to the government of the kingdom. He died at Montpelier, in France,
in May, 1683, but was brought to England, and interred near his father at Kimbolton.
His eldest surviving son,
Charles Montagu, fourth Earl, and first Duke of Manchestei', '^had the advantages
of education, both at the University of Cambridge and abroad; and being early distin-
guished for a manly behaviour and polite address, was appointed carver to the Queen
at the coronation of King James the Second. Not approving, however, of the measures
of that reign, he retired from court; and at the Revolution, secui-ed Huntingdon-
shire for the Prince of Orange, by raising a body of horse, whilst the Prince was
landing. He assisted at the coronation of King William; and in 1690 accompanied
him to Ireland, where he was present at the battle of the Boyne, and at the siege of
Limerick. In 1696 he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary to the Republic of
Venice, but had no further employment during the reign of Queen Anne. On the
accession of George the First he was made one of the Gentlemen of His Majesty's
Bedchamber, and finally, in consideration of his great services, created first Duke of
Manchester in April, 1719. He died in January, 1721-2, and was succeeded by his
eldest son,
William Montagu, second 'Duke, born in France in 1700, during his father's
embassy. He bore the Golden Spurs for the Earl of Essex at the coronation of
George the Second, and in 1737 was constituted Captain of the Yeomen of the
Guard. He died (sme prole) at Bath, October, 1739, and was succeeded by his
brother,
Robert Montagu, third Duke, who was Vice- Chamberlain both to Queen Caroline
and the ruling Sovereign. He died in May, 1762, and was succeeded by his eldest son,
George Montagu, fourth Duke, on whose decease, in September, 1788, his eldest son,
William Montagu, fifth Duke, succeeded to the family honours and possessions.
About the commencement of the present century, he was appointed Governor of
Jamaica. His son and successor was
George Montagu, sixth Duke, commander R.N., father of
William Drogo Montagu, seventh Duke, who married, July 22nd., 1852, the Countess
Louise Fredericke Auguste, daughter of Graf von Alton, and had, with other
■children, an eldest son,
George Victor Drogo Montagu, born June 17th., 1853.
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WESTONBIRT HOUSE,
NEAR TETBURT^ GLOUCESTERSHIRE. HOLFORD.
Elnod held Weston, in Langtrew Hundred, in tlie reign of King Edward the
Confessor.
Earl Hugh held it in the reign of King William.
Hugh le Despencer the younger was seized of the manor of Westonbirt in the fifth
year of Edward the Second; and Thomas Lord Berkeley held it in the thirty-fifth
year of Edward the Third.
Edward, Duke of Somerset, was seized of this manor, and after his attainder it
was granted to James Basset, in the fourth year of Queen Mary; and afterwards,
in the seventh year of Queen Elizabeth, to Arthur Basset.
Mr. Nicholas Dymery was lord of it in the year 1608.
The manor afterwards came to the Crewes, who were a branch of the Crewes of
Cheshire. The heiress of the Crewes was married to Sir Richard Holford, Master in
Chancery, who was also a branch of the Cheshire family of that name, and it thence
came into possession of his descendant and representative, Robert Stayner Holford,
Esq., by whom the present mansion was erected, from the designs, and under the
supervision of the late Lewis Yulliany, Esq., Architect, on the site of a smaller house
built by his predecessor, in lieu of the old Manor House, which dated from about
the time of James the First.
The lineage of the present family deduces from
Sir Richard Holford, Knight, Master in Chancery, who married, first, the heiress
of the family of Crewe, of Westonbirt, and with her acquired the estate; and
secondly, Elizabeth, daughter of Vice Admiral Sir Richard Stayner. By his second
wife he had
Robert Holford, Esq., of Westonbirt, also a Master in Chancery, who married
Sarah, daughter of Sir Peter Vandeput, of the family of the extinct Baronets of
that name, and had a son and heir,
Peter Holford, Esq., of Westonbirt. He too was a master in Chancery and
was father of, with other children,
George Peter Holford, Esq., of Westonbirt, who left at his decease, April 29th.,
1839, a son and successor,
hi. • I
54 WESTONBIRT HOUSE.
Robert Statner Holford, ' Esq., of Westonbirt, J.P., D.L., High Sheriff of
Gloucestershire, 1843, and M.P for East Gloucestershire from 1854 to 1872, born
March 16th., 1808. He married, August 5th., 1854, Mary Anne, daughter of General
James Lindsay, of Balcarres, in the county of Fife, and is father of
George Lindsay Holford, Esq., born June 2nd., 1860.
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WOLSELEY HALL,
NEAR EUGELEY, STAFFORDSHIRE. WOLSELEY, BARONET.
WoLSELEY Hall is situated in a valley close to tlie high road, formerly the old
coach road between London and Liverpool, the inn at Wolseley Bridge being one
of the principal halting places for change of horses. It is about two miles from
Eugeley, and seven from Stafford. The house was considerably rebuilt by Sir
Charles, the seventh Baronet.
The most prominent feature of the interior is a beautiful specimen of oak carving,
consisting of a magnificent staircase, together with the wainscotted drawing-room, the
workmanship of an eminent artist of the name of Pierce, supposed to be a pupil of
Grinley Gibbons, in the reign of Charles the Second.
The Eiver Trent, running in the north-west part of the county, takes here a
winding course, and passes through Wolseley Bridge, near one of the entrance lodges
at the foot of the hanging woods in the park.
Among the pictures are the following: — An interior of an Inn, by Teniers; St.
Agnes, by Carlo Dolce; St. John, by Murillo; two heads by Albert Durer; several
landscapes by Ostard; a cattle piece by Berghem; and several family portraits, the
best being that of Lady Wolseley, {nee Chambers,) wife of the Sixth Baronet, by
Cotes.
The family of Wolseley have resided here, and under the same name, for more
than seven centuries.
From Edric, who lived at Wolseley in the time of William Rufus, descended
Richard de Wolseley, who, in the twenty-fifth year of Edward the First, married
Sybilla, daughter of Roger de Aston, with whom he had lands in Bishton, an adjoining
lordship, which remain with the family to this day.
In the reign of Edward the Fourth, Ralph Wolseley was one of the Barons of
the Exchequer, and had permission, under the Great Seal, to enclose a park, and
to stock it by means of deer leaps, with deer from out of Cannock Chase, which it
adjoins. The leaps exist to the present day, and the park still contains a herd of
deer. The deed is still in preservation amongst several other even older ones in the
muniment chest of the family.
From him descended Robert Wolseley, who was created a Baronet by King
Charles the First. His son. Sir Charles Wolseley, represented the counties of
Stafford and Oxford in Parliament during the Protectorate, and was afterwards called
56 WOLSELEY HALL.
up to Oliver Cromwell's Upper House. He was in great favour with the Protector,
and was one of his "Seven Chums."
There are several monuments and inscriptions in the ancient church at Colwich
of the Wolseley family.
The above-named
Ealph Wolseley, one of the Barons of the Exchequer in the reign of Edward the
First, left a son,
John db Wolseley, father of
Ralph Wolseley, whose son and successor,
John Wolseley, Esq., living in 1614, had, with other issue, a son.
Sir Robert Wolseley, created a Baronet November 28th., 1628. The eighth in-
heritor of the title after him, in direct descent, was
Sir Charles Wolseley, Baronet, born in 1813, who married, in 1834, Mary Anne,
eldest daughter of Nicholas Selby, Esq., of Acton House, Middlesex, and was father
of
Sir Charles Michael Wolseley, ninth Baronet, born in 1846.
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DAETREY,
COUNTY OF MONAQHAN, IRELAND. EARL OF DARTREY.
Dartrey, the seat of the Earl of Dartrey, is situated in the County of Monaghan.
The present house was rebuilt on the site of the old mansion in the year 1846,
and commands an extensive view over a large sheet of water^ forming one of a
wide-spreading chain of lakes.
The sloping lawn between the house and lake is beautifully laid out in terraced
gardens, the brilliancy of which, contrasting with the sombre tints of the fine trees
on either side, gives a peculiar richness to the view.
An important feature in the grounds is formed by a wooded island, nearly two
miles in circumference, in the centre of which, approached by a magnificent avenue
of beech trees, stands a building containing a fine marble monument, executed by
Wilton in 1770, in memory of Lady Anne Dawson.
The approaches to the house, running along the shores of the lakes, form a very
beautiful drive several miles in extent.
The family of Lord Dartrey came originally from Yorkshire, removing to Ireland
in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
Thomas Dawson, of Armagh, was father of
John Dawson, Esq., whose son,
Walter Dawson, Esq., died in 1704, leaving two sons, the elder of whom,
Walter Dawson, Esq., married Frances, daughter of Eichard Dawson, Esq., an
officer in CromwelFs army, with whom he obtained the estate of Dawson's Grove, in
the County of Monaghan. He was succeeded at his decease by his only surviving
son,
Richard Dawson, Esq., of Dawson's Grove, an eminent Banker and Alderman of
the City of Dublin, and M.P. for the County of Monaghan. This gentleman married,
in 1723, Elizabeth, daughter of the Most Rev. John Vesey, D.D., Archbishop of
Tuam, by whom he left, dying in 1766,
Thomas Dawson, Esq., who was elevated to the peerage of Ireland May 28th.,
1770, as Baron Dartrey, and advanced to the dignity of Viscount Cremorne, June
9th., 1785. He married, first, the Lady Anne Fermor, daughter of Thomas, Earl
of Pomfret, by whom, who died in 1769, he had a son and daughter, both of
68 DARTREY.
wliom died in youtli. His lordship marriedj secondly. May Stla.., 1770, Philadelpliia
Hannah, only daughter of Thomas Freame, Esq., of Philadelphia, by whom he had
another only son and daughter, who also died young. He was further created,
March 7th., 1797, Baron Cremorne with remainder to his nephew, Richard Dawson,
Esq., and his heirs male. At his death, March 1st., 1813, the Viscountcy of
Cremorne expired, but the Barony of the same devolved on his great-nephew,
Richard Thomas Dawson, second Baron Cremorne, born 1788, who married, March
10th., 1815, Anne Elizabeth Emily, third daughter of John Whaley, Esq., of Whaley
Abbey, in the county of Wicklow, and left at his decease, in 1827,
Richard Dawson, third Baron Cremorne, of Dartrey, K.P,, formerly a Lord in
Waiting on the Queen, Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum of the County of
Monaghan, born September 7th., 1817, created Baron Dartrey, September 20th.,
1847, and Earl or Daeteey, July 12th., 1866. He married, July 12th., 1841,
Augusta, daughter of Edward Stanley, Esq. and Lady Mary Stanley, daughter of the
Earl of Lauderdale, and had with other children,
Vesey Dawson, Lord Cremorne, Lieutenant-Colonel in the Coldstream Guards and
M.P. for the County of Monaghan, born April 22nd., 1842.
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MEREYALE HALL,
NEAR ATHBRSTONE, WARWICKSHIRE. DUGDALE.
Merevale Hall, near Atherstone, stands on the borders of Warwicksliire and
Leicestershire^ about a mile distant from the town. It is finely situated on the edge
of a wooded eminence.
The entrance is to the west, and on the south and east is a beautiful suite of
spacious apartments with high Elizabethan and bay windows, opening on a terraced
garden in the Italian style, facing the park. At the north-east corner of the mansion
is a lofty tower, which is seen to great advantage from all the surrounding neigh-
bourhood. The views from it are extremely fine, and embrace a vast extent of country.
In clear weather places and objects can be seen forty miles ofi".
The park, beautifully undulated with hill and dale, is adorned with some of the
finest oaks in the kingdom, many of which reach to the height of one hundred
feet and upwards, and are evidently relics of the ancient Forest of Arden, which
extended all over North Warwickshire. It is also well stocked with deer, and has
a noble lake.
The present house was built in the year 1840, by the celebrated architect Blore, on
the site of a former mansion of brick. The style is florid Elizabethan, and the south-
east front is justly considered one of the architect's masterpieces. The interior is
very handsomely decorated, and the rooms lofty and well arranged. There is a small
but well-selected collection of pictures by the old masters, among which is one of
the finest Cuyps in England. There is also a large library, comprising many valuable
works, and among them the entire library of the antiquary Sir William Dagdale,
from whom the owners of the property have descended through an heiress.
To the north of the house, at about the distance of half a mile, in the grounds,
stands the parish church, which is very ancient and curious. It was formerly the
pilgrim's chapel, belonging to the monastery. It contains some fine old stained-glass
windows, among other good specimens being a very fine 14th. century east window,
which has been lately restored. There are also here some monumental figures of the
Ferrers family, the founders of the abbey.
The only remains of the monastic buildings are the walls of the refectory and a
part of the south wall of the conventual church, the foundations of which have been
lately excavated. The church was found to have been two hundred and twenty feet
in length.
60 MEREYALE HALL.
At the Dissolution of tlie Monasteries tlie abbey passed into tlie family of Devereux.
It- next went into tbat of Stratford, with which it continued until it was conveyed in
marriage by an heiress to the Dugdales of Blythe Hall.
A monastery of the Cistercian Order was founded at Merevale by Robert, Earl
Ferrers, in the thirteenth year of the reign of King Stephen. This monastery was
largely endowed by the founder, and was favoured by many benefactions in after
periods. At the Dissolution the revenues were stated at £254 Is. 8d. per annum.
The abbot and monks received pensions during life. Considerable fragments of the
building still linger, as above stated, in a progressive and picturesque state of decay.
This ancient family is now represented as follows: —
Sir William Dugdale, Knight, the celebrated antiquary and genealogist, author of
the well-known Dugdale's "Monasticon," was father of
Sir John Dugdale, whose son,
William Dugdale, Esq., of Blythe Hall, left a daughter and co-heiress, Jane
Dugdale, married to
Richard Geast, Esq., of Handsworth, and their elder son and heir,
Richard Geast, Esq., Barrister-at-law, by his marriage, in 1767, with Penelope
Bate, eldest daughter and co-heiress of Francis Stratford, Esq., of Merevale,, ( — he
assumed, in 1799, the additional surname and arms of Dugdale — ) had, with three
daughters, a son,
Dugdale Stratford Dugdale, Esq., of Merevale, born in 1773, M.P. for War-
wickshire from 1802 to 1830, who married the Hod curable Charlotte Curzon, daughter
of Assheton Curzon, first Viscount Curzon, and had by her an only son,
William Stratford Dugdale, Esq., of Merevale and Blythe Hall, J.P. and D.L.,
and some time M.P. for North Warwickshire, who married Harriet Ella, daughter of
Edward Berkeley Portman, Esq., of Bryanston, in the county of Dorset, and sister
of Lord Portman, and had several children, the eldest son being
William Stratford Dugdale, Esq., who married Alice, daughter of Sir Charles
Trevelyan, Baronet, and has a son.
The paternal descent of the present family is from
John Geste, of Handsworth, a holder of copyhold lands there, 12th. Henry VII,
grandfather of
Edmund Geast, Bishop of Salisbury, who was followed by
Richard Geast, Esq., father of
Nicholas Geast, Esq., of Handsworth, who by his wife Phoebe, daughter of —
Downing, was father of the above-named
Richard Geast, Esq., of Handsworth, progenitor, as above shown, of the existing
owner of Merevale.
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BESTWOOD LODGE,
NEAR NOTTINGHAM, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE. DUKE OP ST. ALBANS.
From authentic information there seems no doubt that Bestwood was once a royal
residence, and much frequented for hunting purposes by royalty, for King Edward
the Third, by his letters patent, dated at his Park of Beskwood, 1st. September,
37th. Ed. III., (1364,) pardoned and released certain rents issuing out of "Lindley
Hay and Bullwell Rise, to the Priory of Newstede." And in the inquisition taken
at St. John's House, Nottingham, the fourth of the nones of July, in 35th. Henry
III., (1251,) before Geoffrey Langley, Justice of the Forest, it is called a "Hay or
Park of our Lord the King, wherein no man commons." And earlier still. King
Henry the First granted to the Priory of Lenton to have "^two carts to fetch deal
wood and heath out of Besewood." King Henry the Second also, about the year
1160, granted the Convent to have eveiy day "two carrs or three carretts to bring
them dead wood or heath, as much as they should need for their own use.^^
In 1329 the wood of Beskwood was granted by Edward the Third to Richard de
Shelley for his life. The same monarch, on the 22nd. of February, 1335, also
granted to Richard de Shelley the dry zuches, which in English were then called
stovenes or stubbes, within his Hay of Bestwood.
Thoroton, who wrote in the year 1677, says, "Bestwood hath a very fair Lodge
in it, and in respect to the pleasant situation of the place, and conveniency of
hunting and pleasure, the Park and Lodge have for these many years been the
desire and achievement of great men. Three Earls of Rutland had it, Roger,
Francis, and George. Before that, Thomas Markham, a great courtier and servant
to Queen Elizabeth, had it; and before him, little Sir John Byron, a great favourite
of King Henry the Eighth's. It is now on lease to William, Lord Willoughby of
Parham. Before the troubles it was well stored with red deer, but now it is
parcelled into little closes on one side, and much of it hath been plowed, so that
there is scarce either wood or venison, which is also likely to be the fate of the
whole Forest of Shirewood.'"
Charles the Second, by Royal Letters Patent, about 1683, granted the Park of
Bestwood to Henry Beauclerc, or Beauclerk, created Duke of St. Albans, Registrar
of the High Court of Chancery, and Master Falconer of England, with remainder
to his heirs male.
III. K
62 BESTWOOD LODGE.
The ancestor of the family of the Duke of St. Albans was
Charles Beauclerk, son of His Majesty King Charles the Second by Eleanor
Gwynn, born May 8th., 1670, who married Diana, heiress of Aubrey de Vere, last
Earl of Oxford, and was created Baron of Hedington and Earl op Burpord, December
27th., 1676, and further elevated in the peerage, January 10th., 1683-4, as Duke op
St. Albans. His son,
Charles Beauclerk, second Duke, K.G. and K.B., married, December 13th., 1722,
Lucy, daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Werden, Baronet. His Grace was followed,
at his decease, July 27th., 1751, by
George Beauclerk, [third Dake, who married Jane, daughter and co-heiress of Sir
Walter Roberts, Baronet, of Glassenbury, Kent, but died without issue February 1st.,
1786, when the honours reverted to his kinsman, the grandson of the first Duke,
George Beauclerk, Esq., who succeeded as fourth Duke, but dying unmai'ried in
1787, the title next went to his cousin, grandson, through another son, of the first
Duke, namely,
Aubrey, second Baron Vere of Hanworth, who succeeded as fifth Duke. He
married, in 1763, Lady Catherine Ponsonby, daughter of William Earl of Bessborough,
by whom he had a successor,
Aubrey Beauclerk, sixth Duke, born August 21st., 1765. His Grace married, first,
Miss Moses, by whom he had a daughter, Mary, married to George William, eighth
Earl of Coventry, and secondly, Louisa, Countess of Dysart, by whom he left an
only son, his successor, in 1815,
Aubrey Beauclerk, seventh Duke, who died February 19th., 1816, the same day
as his mother, when the honours reverted to his uncle,
William Beauclerk, eighth Duke, married, first, in 1791, Charlotte, daughter of the
Rev. Robert Carter Thelwall, and heiress of Redbourne Hall, which lady died without
issue in 1797, and secondly, in 1799, Mary Janetta, only daughter and heiress of
John Nelthorpe, Esq., of Little Grimsby Hall, Lincolnshire, and by her left a large
family, of whom the eldest son,
WiLLLiAM Aubrey db Vere Beauclerk, ninth Duke, born March 1st., 1801, married,
first, Harriet, daughter of Matthew Mellon, Esq., and widow of Thomas Coutts, Esq.
She died without children, August 6th., 1837. The Duke married, secondly. May
29th., 1839, Elizabeth Catherine, youngest daughter of General Joseph Gubbins, of
Kilrush, in the county of Limerick, and had
William Amelius Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, tenth Duke, who married, June
20th., 1867, Sybil Mary, eldest daughter of Lieutenant-General the Honourable
Charles Grey, and secondly, January 3rd., 1874, Grace, daughter of Bernal Osborne,
Esq., of Newtown Annes. His heir is
Charles Victor Albert Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, born March 26th,, 1870.
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ROSSMORE PARK,
NEAR MONAGHAN, COUNTY OF MONAGHAN, IRELAND. — LOED ROSSMORE.
This picturesque building stands on an eminence in the middle of a park of
considerable extent, abounding in natural beauties and extensive views.
The inside of the structure is in keeping with its outside appearance. The prin-
cipal reception rooms and hall contain many pictures of interest and value.
The castle, which was greatly enlarged and beautified by the present peer's father,
came into the possession of the Westenras by the marriage of one of their
ancestors, Henry Westenra, Esq., M.P., Seneschal of the King^s Manors in Ireland,
with Miss Harriet Murray, daughter of Colonel J. Murray and Mary Lady Blayney,
only child and heiress of Sir Alexander Cairns.
The genealogy of this family, originally from Holland, is as follows: —
Jacob Aaron Van Wassenaer, a noble, married Lady Amelia Bentinck. Of the
same family was
Warner Westenra, who settled in Ireland in the reign of Charles the Second,
and was made a free denizen of that kingdom by Act of Parliament in 1662. He
married Elizabeth Wybrantz, and had a successor,
Henry Westenra, Esq., who married in 1700, Eleanor, second daughter of Sir
Joshua Allen, Knight, and sister of John Allen, first Viscount Allen, by whom he
had, with other children, an eldest son,
Warner Westenra, Esq., M.P. for Maryborough in 1728. He married, in 1738,
Lady Hester Lambert, second daughter of Richard Lambert, fourth Earl of Cavan,
and had with other issue,
Henry Westenra, Esq., married to Harriet, one of the sisters of Elizabeth Murray,
daughter of John Murray, Esq., (co-heiress of her mother, Mary, Dowager Lady
Blayney, sole heiress of Sir Alexander Cairns, Baronet,) who had married General
Robert Cunningham, raised to the peerage of Ireland, October 19th., 1796, as Baron
RossMORB, of Rossmore Park, the patent of creation containing a reversionary clause,
conferring the Barony, at his Lordship^s decease, on the heirs male, at the time
being, of two of her Ladyship's sisters successively, and the only son of the elder
of the other sisters, Mrs. Jones, wife of the Right Honourable Theophilus Jones,
64 ROSSMORE PARK.
having predeceased him, the Barony devolved on the eldest son of the younger
sister,
Warner William Westbnra, born October 14th,, 1765, who was created a Baron
of the United Kingdom as Baron Rossmore, June 23rd., 1828. His Lordship had
married, first, October 3rd., 1791, Mary Anne, second daughter of Charles Walsh,
Esq., of Walsh Park, in the county of Tipperary, and by her had, with other
children,
Henry Robert Westenra, born August 24th., 1792, who succeeded as third Baron.
He married, first. Lady Anne Douglas, daughter of Douglas eighth Duke of Hamilton,
who died issueless August 20th., 1844, and secondly. May 19th., 1846, his cousin,
Josephine Julia Helen Lloyd, second daughter of Henry Lloyd, Esq., of Farrinrory,
in the county of Tipperary, and had
Henry Cairns Westenra, an officer in the 1st. Life Guards, born November 14th.,
1851, who succeeded to the title as fourth Baron Rossmore. He died 28th. March,
1874, and was succeeded by his next brother, the present Peer,
Derrick Warner William Westenra, Sub-Lieutenant 1st. Life Guards, born 7th.
February, 1853.
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PHILIPHAUGH,
NEAR SELKIRK, SELKIRKSHIRE. MURRAY, BARONET.
History notes Philiphaugli as a place of considerable mark in the south of Scotland.
On its plains the celebrated battle between Generals Montrose and Leslie was fought
in 1645, which decided the religion of Scotland, the Covenanting Presbyterians
gaining the victory.
The estate has been in the possession of the Murray family for centuries. The
first of the family upon record was Archibald de Morovia, who lived in the reign of
King Alexander III., and is mentioned in the Chartulary of Newbattle, Anno 1280.
For centuries they possessed the greatest portion of the county of Selkirk, and a
large extent of Peebleshire, besides lands in Midlothian.
Among the ancestors of the present proprietor, who is a descendant in the direct
male line from Archibald de Morovia, were many distinguished men both in the
Scottish and English Parliaments. Among the most celebrated was the Outlaw
Murray. He is mentioned as being of a prodigious size and strength, and among
the most daring and foremost of the Border Chieftains, with five hundred retainers —
"A' in ae liverye clad,
O' the Lincome grene sae gaye to see."
On one occasion King James IV. had an interview with him not far from Philip-
haugh, desiring him to become a faithful subject, and acknowledge him as king.
At the interview (see Scott^s "Border Minstrelsy,^' — Song of the Outlaw Murray,)
the King said
"On gallows ye sail hanget be!"
" Over God's forbode," qnotb the outlaw then,
" I hope your Grace will bettir be !
Else, ere you come to Edinburgh port,
I trow thin guarded sail ye be:
"Thir landis of Ettricke Foreste fair
I wan them from the enemy —
Like as I wan them, sae will I keep them,
Oontrair a' Kingis in Christentie."
66 PHILIPHAUGH.
The King and his nobles attending him were so struck with the courage and noble
bearing of the Outlaw, that he obtained forgiveness, and then said, on being asked
by the King to name his lands —
"Fair Philiphaugh is mine by right,
And Lewinshope still mine sail be;
Newark, Foulshiells, and Tinnies baith,
My bow and arrow purchased me.
"And I have native steads to me,
The Newark Lee and Hangingshaw;
I have mony steads in the Forest schaw,
But them by name I dinna knaw."
The keys of the Castell he gave the King
Wi' the blessing of his fair Ladye;
He was made sheriffe of Bttiicke Foreste,
Sarely while upward grows the tree ;
And if he was na traitour to the King,
Forfaulted he suld never be.
"Whaever heard, in ony times,
Sicken an Outlaw in his degree?
Sic favour get before a King,
As did the Outlaw Murray of the Foreste free ?"
The present owner of the estate succeeded to the Baronetcy of Melgund, which
title had been granted, and held by a junior member of the family since 1704.
It was assumed shortly after the death of Sir Albert Joseph Murray, a Count of the
Austrian Empire, by an order of the Sheriff in Chancery.
Sir John Murray is the chief of the families of his name in the southern portion
of Scotland.
I quote the following from one of the printed accounts of the residence: —
'^The situation of the Mansion House is very beautiful and romantic, — backed by
lofty hills, covered with the largest portion now extant of the well-wooded forest of
Ettrick, with the lovely and classic river Yarrow in the foreground. The beauty and
elegance of the hall and public rooms, with the suits and trophies of ancient armour;
the numerous family portraits and fine paintings by old and modern artists; the
collection of antique furniture, bronzes, and magnificent china of all periods, along
with numerous relics from the battlefield, consisting of muskets, swords, cannon balls,
and silver coins, make it one of the most interesting and attractive residences in the
Scottish borders.^'
Through the liberality of the proprietor, both the Mansion House and grounds are
thrown open to visitors and tourists.
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WYNNSTAY,
NEAR RHUABON, DENBIGHSHIRE. WILLIAMS-WYNN, BARONET.
This place, in the fifteenth century, formed part of the estates of John ap Ellis
Eyton, who fought at the battle of Bosworth, and whose tomb, upon which are
effigies of himself and of his wife, remains in one of the Wynnstay Chapels in
Rhuabon Church.
From the Eytons the estate passed by marriage to a family of the name of
Evans, and from them, by the mamage of Jane, daughter and heiress of Eyton
Evans, Esq., with Sir John Wynn, Baronet, Custos Rotulorum and M.P. for Merio-
nethshire, to the Wynns. Sir John died without issue in 1719, aged ninety-one,
and left his large possessions to his kinsman, Watkin, eldest son of Sir William
Williams, Baronet, who thereupon assumed the additional surname of Wynn. Sir
William was the eldest son and successor of the Right Honourable Sir William
Williams, Baronet, who was Speaker of the House of Commons in the reign of
King Charles the Second, and who died in the year 1700.
The spacious park at Wynnstay, containing about five hundred head of deer, red
and fallow, was enclosed, and the wall built, in the time of Sir John Wynn, who
also planted the now venerable avenue.
The house, prior to the lamentable fire in 1858, was an extensive but irregular
pile, containing some fine apartments, and at the time of the fire was undergoing
extensive alterations. The whole was destroyed, with the exception of the offices.
Many pictures of great value, and a rare and valuable collection of books and
manuscripts perished in the flames. Fortunately the pictures by Sir Joshua Reynolds
were saved through the exertions of the French cook, who cut them from their
frames before the flames reached them.
The new mansion which has arisen upon the ruins is a spacious edifice, in the
style of one of the old French palaces, from the design of B. Ferrey, Esq., and
contains a valuable collection of pictures by the great masters.
Wynnstay park is stated to embrace a circuit of eight miles. Within the park, at
a mansion called Bodylltyn, lived in the sixteenth century, Edward ap Roger Eyton,
of high authority as a Welsh herald and genealogist. A large folio volume, entirely
in his autograph, is extant. He died in 1587.
The inscription upon the handsome column in the park to the memory of Sir
68 WYNNSTAY.
Watkin "Williams Wynn, who died in 1789, was written by his brother-in-law, the
talented Lord Grenville, " Filio ojotimo, mater eheu! superstes.
»
To say that this family is of "Welsh origin, and that both paternally and maternally,
is sufficient to shew its antiquity. To be of the Ancient British race is to date back
to a period long antecedent to the arrival of Saxons or Normans in the country. In
the male line the descent is from
Cadrodd Hardd (Cadrodd the Handsome), twenty-second ancestor of the owner of
Wynnstay, and, in the female line, from
Rhodki Mawr, King of Wales, himself the representative of a long line of regal
forefathers, who was slain A.D. 876. The twenty-fifth successor to whom was
"William Wtnn, Esq., whose daughter, Sydney Wynn, married Edward Thelwall,
Esq., and their daughter became the wife of Sir William Williams, Bart., of Llandforda,
who, on succeeding by will to the estates of the House of Wynnstay, assumed the
additional surname and arms of Wynn.
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MORETON HALL,
NEAR CONGLETON^ CHESHIEE. — ACKERS.
The view towards tlie soutli from tliis fine seat is bounded by that range of
bills which extends from Scotland southwards into the centre of England^ and which
here presents one of its most remarkable features, in the high hill called Mow Cop (a
corruption of the old British word Moel, and the Saxon word Cop), which is about
twelve hundred feet above the level of the sea, and surmounted by a ruined tower,
and a singularly isolated rock, called ''The old man of Mow," from its resemblance
to a gigantic human figure. To the summit of this range of hills the handsome
woods of the Moreton property extend, forming a splendid and picturesque view from
the Hall beneath.
The park is entered by two ornamental stone lodges.
The ancient house on this property, built in the year 1602, was a fine specimen of
the old black and white timbered mansions of Cheshire, with innumerable gable ends
and carved wood work, but having fallen into a state of total dilapidation, the
building was taken down in the year 1844 by the late owner of the property, Mr.
Ackers, and in its stead, on a different site, a splendid Hall in the Gothic style was
commenced by him in the year 1841, under the celebrated architect Mr. Blore, and
finished in 1843.
The house is built of stone from the Moreton quarries on Mow Cop, and presents
a very handsome appearance, having a square tower in the centre, and many smaller
turrets and towers of various forms.
The interior is composed of a spacious entrance-hall and vestibule, each lined with
Caen stone, elaborately carved; a splendid dining-hall sixty-four feet in length, with
a massive wood pitched roof thirty-six feet high, walls of Caen stone, and richly-carved
chimney-piece of the same material; a minstrel gallery at one end, with fine oak screen
and a raised dais at the upper end of the hall, and lofty Gothic windows, ornamented
with stained glass, complete this fine banqueting hall. From thence, passing through
an ante-room of paneled oak, is a handsome saloon, fifty feet in length, and a smaller
drawing-room hung with beautiful old Oudenarde tapestry in a high state of
preservation. Besides these apartments the library and other rooms are spacious and
well arranged.
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70 MOEETON HALL.
George Ackers, Esq., of Moreton Hall, born August 19tli., 1788, married, November
8tli., 1811, Harriet Dell, second daughter of Henry Hutton, Esq., of Leicester, and
by ber left at his decease, November 22nd., 1836, an only child,
George Holland Ackers, Esq., of Moreton Hall. He formerly belonged to the
Royal Horse Guards Blue, was Lieutenant-Colonel of the Queen's Own Staffordshire
Yeomanry, Commodore of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, Magistrate and Deputy-
Lieutenant for Cheshire, and served as High Sheriff for the County in the year
1852.
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HENGEAYE HALL,
NEAR BURY ST. EDMUNDS, SUFFOLK. — GAGE.
Hengravb Hall is an admirable example of the fine old houses with which this
country abounds. The date of its erection is fixed by the following inscription in
three compartments, cut in stone on the outside of a curious oriel window over
the entrance: '^Opus hoc fieei fecit Toma Kytson — In Dieu et mon droit — Anno
D^Ni Mccccc TRiCESiMO OCTAVO.^' This inscription runs round a fillet beneath the bow
window, and the second division of it is under the royal arms.
This mansion afi'ords a unique specimen of ancient domestic architecture. The
whole is of brick and stone. "The gateway," observes Mr. Gough, "is of such
singular beauty, and in such high preservation, that perhaps a more elegant specimen
of the architecture of that age can scarcely be seen.''^ It was once more extensive
than at present, several alterations having been made, and some parts at the north
and north-east angle taken away, in 1775. The building, which is still large, encloses
a quadrangular court, and the apartments open into a gallery, the windows of which
overlook this court. They formerly contained a quantity of stained glass, and the
bay window in the hall still retains some fine specimens, consisting of various armorial
bearings. The window also is richly adorned with mullions, fan-tracery, pendants,
and spandrils, all of which nearly resemble the highly florid examples in King
Henry the Seventh's Chapel. The turrets at each side of the entrance and at the
corners of the building, as also two small turreted columns at the door, bear a
striking resemblance to Moorish minarets, or the capitals of Indian edifices.
Some years since this mansion was the abode of a sisterhood of expatriated nuns
of Bruges, to whom the owner of Hengrave liberally afibrded an asylum. During-
their residence here, they lost, by death, their superior, a lineal descendant of the
great Sir Thomas More. When the decree in favour of the emigrants was issued
in France, they availed themselves of the permission to return to their own country.
Very near the hall stands a small church, which is distinguished by one of the
ancient round towers that seem to be peculiar to this part of the kingdom. No
use seems to have been made of the edifice for several years, the Eectory having been
consolidated with Flempton. Of the monuments within it, the principal are those of
the Kitsons; one of John Bouchier, Earl of Bath, who married into this family; one
of his son, John, Lord Fitzwarren; one of Thomas, son of Earl Eivers; and several
of the Gages.
72 HENGRAYE HALL.
There is a fine marble tomb, in memory of Sir Thomas Kitson, the founder of
Hengrave Hall, with effigies of himself and one of his wives; but it is rather singular
that in the inscription a blank is left for the parentage of his first wife. This
gentleman, who came from the obscure village of Yealland, in Lancashire, having
obtained immense wealth by commercial speculation in the cloth trade, received the
honour of knighthood. He purchased the manor of Hengrave from the crown, and
possessed several other estates in Sufiblk, Devonshire, Dorsetshire, and the city of
London, for which he served the office of Sherifi". He was afterwards appointed by
the Duke of Norfolk Steward of the Franchise of Bury St. Edmunds, and died
September 13th., 1540, aged fifty-five.
This ancient and distinguished family claims its origin from
The Sire de Gaugi, whose name is on the Roll of Battle Abbey as having fought
at Hastings. It is represented by the head of the House, Lord Gage, one of whose
ancestors.
Sir John Gage, Baronet, of Firle, married Lady Penelope Darcy, daughter and
co-heiress of Lord Rivers. It is related of her that she "was wooed by three suitors
at the same time, and the knights, as in chivalry bound, were disposed to contest
the prize with target and lance; but the lady herself forbad the battle, and menaced
the disobedient knights with her lasting displeasure, promising, jocularly, that if
they had but patience, she would have them all in their turns; and she actually
fulfilled her promise, for she married, first. Sir George Trenchard, of Wolverton,
Dorsetshire; secondly. Sir John Gage, of Firle; and thirdly. Sir William Hervey, of
Ickworth.^^
The son of the second marriage,
Edward Gage, Esq., was created a Baronet July 15th., 1662, and was followed by
a direct line of successors in the title, of whom the ninth.
Sir Edward Rokewode Gage, Baronet, born March 20th., 1812, married, August
2nd., 1842, Henrietta Mary, second daughter of the Rev. Lord Frederick Beau clerk,
third son of the fifth Duke of St. Albans.
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EASTON HALL,
NEAE GRANTHAM^ LINCOLNSHIRE. CHOLMELEY, BARONET.
I TAKE the following account of this place from the '^Visitation of Seats and Arms/'
by Sir Bernard Burke: —
"Easton was an old Hall surrounded by extensive farm ofl&ces, and a considerable
village inhabited by the servants of the family. The grounds were pleasantly diver-
sified, and there were many great trees, and an old-fashioned garden, with a river and
yew hedges. Considerable alterations were recently made in this old Hall and grounds,
but in doing their quaintness was partly lost, which was their only claim to notice.
A successor has completely changed the place. Retaining the best portions, both
of the original building, and of the later alterations, he has given something of a
feudal character to the whole, and has made extensive additions in excellent taste.
The village and farm oflSces have been removed. New offices have been built in
keeping with the manorial character which has been given to the house. A stone
court has been constructed in front, which is entered under a gate tower, and
through an arched gateway. The old garden has been restored, and terraces have
been constructed, descending from the house to the stream. Many great additions
have been made to the internal accommodation. The entrance-hall has been paneled
with carved oak, and raised to the height of the second storey, and there is a handsome
suite, of dining-room, library, two drawing-rooms, and conservatory. The fitting up
of the interior has been made as much as possible to correspond with the style of
the exterior, which is intended to represent the Elizabethan age.''
The three several families of Cholmondeley, Cholmeley, and Cholmley, claim each a
common ancestry in
William de Cholmondeley, the head of the house in the reign of King Henry the
Fourth. His second son,
John Cholmeley, the ancestor of the family of Easton Hall, had two sons, both,
strangely as it seems to us, named John. Of these, the second,
John Cholmeley, was the father of
Richard Cholmeley, who, by his wife Dionysia PhiHps, had two sons, of whom the
younger.
74 EASTON HALL.
John Cholmeley, married Isabel Hare, and had
(Sir) Henry Cholmeley, of Baston, in Lincolnshire. He was knighted, and died
in 1620, and was succeeded by his elder son,
Henry Cholmeley, of Easton, who died in 1632, having married Elizabeth, daughter
of Sir Richard Sondes, of Throwley, and had a son and heir,
Montague Cholmeley, of Easton, who died in 1652. He was father of, by Eliza-
beth, daughter of Sir Edward Hartopp, Bart., of Buckminster,
Montague Cholmeley, of Easton, who married, first, Alice, daughter of Sir Edward
Brownlow, Bart., of Great Humby in the same county, and secondly, Elizabeth,
daughter of Richard Booth, Alderman of London, a cadet of the family of Booth,
Earl of Warrington, and was followed by his son,
James Cholmeley, of Easton, who died in 1735. He married Catherine Woodfine,
by whom he had, with other issue, an eldest son,
John Cholmeley, of Easton, who died in 1768. He married Penelope, daughter
of Sir Joseph Heme, of Twyford, and was succeeded by his son,
Montague Cholmeley, of Easton, married to Mary, daughter of Humphrey Sibthorpe,
of Canwick Hall, Lincolnshire, and had an heir.
Sir Montague Cholmeley, of Easton, born in 1772, M.P. for Grantham. He was
created a Baronet, March 4th., 1806. He married twice, his first wife being (married
September 14th., 1801,) Elizabeth, daughter of John Harrison, Esq., of Norton Place,
in the county of Lincoln, and had issue, of whom the eldest son.
Sir Montague John Cholmeley, Baronet, of Easton Hall and Norton Place, both
in the same county, born August 5th., 1802, married, February lOtli,, 1829, Lady
Georgiana Beauclerk, fifth daughter of William, eighth Duke of St. Albans, and had
a second surviving son,
Hugh Arthur Cholmeley, M.P. for Grantham, born in October, 1839.
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PRESTON HALL,
NBAR AYLESFORD, KENT. — BRASSEY.
Preston Hall, the seat of Henry A. Brassey, Esq., M.P., is of very ancient date,
and was formerly the residence of the Colpepper family, who were proprietors of the
Preston Hall estate, which comprises the manors of Aylesford, Eccles, Tottington,
and Cossington. The estate passed from them to the Milners, from whom it was
purchased by E. L. Betts, Esq. Since that time the old mansion has been removed,
and the present handsome stone edifice erected upon a more elevated but not far-
distant spot. Near the site of the old hall there is still a large barn, bearing the
initials T. C, and the date 1102.
The parish of Aylesford was anciently a royal demesne, and is mentioned as such
in "Domesday Book," and within it the families of De Grey, Wyatt, Colpepper,
Sedley, and Cosenton resided or held considerable property.
Ancient Roman and other relics have been frequently discovered here. About the
year 455, a battle was fought here between the Britons and Saxons, in which both
Catigern and Horsa were killed, and which resulted in the Saxons leaving the
kingdom for some time. It was here also that Edmund Ironside desisted from his
pursuit of the Danes under Canute; and upon Blue Bell Hill, in the immediate
neighbourhood, the traces of ancient military entrenchments are still discernible.
In the possession of Druidical remains the parish of Aylesford is also remarkable.
One of these, a cromlech, named Kit's Coty House, is described as being "composed
of four large stones, three of them placed in an upright position, one across at the
back between the other two, forming a rude shed, and the fourth lying flat upon
the top of them, forming a roof. The two outside stones are each about eight feet
high, eight feet broad, and two feet thick; the back stone is not so broad, but of
a similar height; the top stone is about eleven feet long, eight feet broad and
two feet thick. The structure is capable of afibrding shelter to several persons. It
is supposed to be a place of sepulture; tradition says it is the burial-place of
Catigern." A larger structure of a similar kind originally stood somewhat nearer
to the village of Aylesford, but having fallen down at some period unknown, the
stones now lie in a confused heap, and are partly overgrown with trees. In a field
close by the Tottington farm buildings many large stones of a like description are
scattered, as well as at the bottom of a pond upon the same farm; and near these
a solitary flat stone of huge dimensions, which, from its shape, is called the Coffin.
76 PRESTON HALL.
This spot was evidently one of much, importance among tlie Druids, and attracts
many visitors.
The church at Aylesford, dedicated to St. Peter, is a handsome structure of the
fourteenth century^ and contains several ancient and costly monuments of the Col-
peppers and Rycauts; one also of Sir John Banks, Baronet, who died in 1699. The
parish register dates from the year 1653.
A building, called the Friars, still existing upon the bank of the Medway, was
the earliest foundation in England of the Carmelite Friars, who were brought over
by Richard de Grey, of Codnor, on his return from the Holy Land, and who founded
this priory, which was afterwards dissolved by King Henry the Eighth. The remains
of Richard, Lord Crey, of Codnor, were brought from Normandy and buried here,
as were also those of other members of that family.
New National Schools were erected in 1872, the boys^ school by subscription,
largely aided by Mr. Brassey, who presented the site and play-ground; and the
girls' school was built solely at the expense of that gentleman.
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LAWTON HALL,
NEAR CONGLETONj CHESHIRE. LAWTON.
This mansiou is a handsome structure of considerable extent.
The grounds are tastefully laid out^ extending to the church at the west front of
the housCj and contain an artificial sheet of water.
At the time of Edward the Confessor^ Lawton^ then called "Lautune/' was divided
into two unequal portions, both of which were held by Godric, and both became the
property of Hugo de Mara, and are mentioned in the Domesday Survey.
Hugo de Mara, a Fitz-Norman, who was the founder of the Barony of Montalt,
conferred Lawton on the Abbey of St. Werburgh, Chester.
A moiety of the township was possessed by a family bearing the local name in the
time of Henry the Third, and which frequently occurs in grants to the superior
lords, the Abbots.
On the dissolution of the monasteries, the manor, together with the patronage of
the church, was purchased from the Crown, in 1541, by William Lawton, of Lawton.
In 1552, William Lawton was found to have held the Manor of Lawton, with
court-leet and free-warren, and the advowson of the church of Church Lawton, from
the King, in ca^pite, by military service.
Hugh Lawton, of Lawton, married Isabella, daughter of John Madoc, and by her
had issue
John Lawton, who married and died in the lifetime of his father, leaving an only
surviving son,
Richard Lawton, who succeeded his grandfather, and was himself succeeded by
James Lawton, who left by Eleonora, daughter of Matthew More, a son and heir,
William Lawton. He married Katherine, daughter of Thomas Bellott, Esq., of
Moreton, in the same county.
John Lawton, Esq., living in 1580, had a son, by his second wife, daughter of
Fulke Dutton, Esq.,
William Lawton, Esq., whose eldest son,
John Lawton, Esq., married Clare, daughter of Ralph Sneyd, Esq., of Keele, in
the county of Stafford, and left a son and successor,
HI. M
78 • LAWTON HALL.
William Lawton, Esq., who served the office of High Sheriflf of Cheshire, in
1672, and by Hester, daughter of Sir Edward Longueville, Bart., left at his death,
in 1693, a son and heir,
John Lawton, Esq. He married, first, Anne, daughter of George, younger son of
Henry, first Earl of Manchester, and sister of Charles, Earl of Halifax, by whom he
had no surviving issue. By his second wife, Mary, relict of Sir Edward Longueville,
Bart., he left a son and successor,
Robert Lawton, Esq. He was Sherifi" of Cheshire in 1754, and by Sarah, daughter
of John Offley, Esq., M.P. for the County, he had a son and heir,
John Lawton, Esq., who married Anne, daughter and co-heiress of Charles Crewe,
Esq., M.P. for Cheshire, by whom he left at his death, in 1804, four sons, and was
succeeded by the eldest,
William Lawton, Esq., who died without issue, when the estates passed to his
next brother,
Charles Bourne Lawton, Esq., who married, first, Anne, daughter of Henry
Featherstonhaugh, Esq., of Tooting, in Surrey, and secondly, Mariana Percy, daughter
of William Belcombe, Esq., M.D., of York. He was succeeded by his nephew,
John Lawton, Esq., of Lawton Hall, J.P., married, 1845, Emily Anne, youngest
daughter of Thomas Legh, Esq., of Adlington, and had by her a son,
William John Percy Lawton, Esq., of Lawton Hall, born December 27th., 1849.
ST. MICHAEL'S MOUNT.
CORNWALL, — ST. AUBYN^ BARONET.
*
This is a truly historical place, and is believed to liave been visited by the
Phoenicians of old, on their trading visits to the Ancient Britons, for the natural
products of that part of the island.
It has been celebrated for long ages on account of the singularity and beauty of
its situation, as
"That beauteous gem set in the silver sea."
It derives its name from a supposed visit of the Archangel St. Michael, who was
supposed to have honoured it with his presence.
Here for some time lived
"That valiante Cornisliinan
"Who slewe ye Giante Cormoran."
This stronghold was first taken by Henry de la Pomeroy, who obtained it by
stratagem, and held it for John against his brother Eichard the First. He soon
afterwards died from fright, fearing the consequences of his rebellion.
Part of the building is believed to be of such old date as the time of Edward the
Confessor. The most interesting portions of it are the Guard Room, the Refectory,
or Chevy Chase Room, and the Chapel. The Refectory remains to this day in its
original state, except that it has had the addition of a splendidly carved roof of
English oak.
The Service of the Church of England was held in the Chapel by the last pro-
prietor. One of the pinnacles on its tower is the famous St. MichaeFs Chair, of
* See View on the Title-page.
80 ST. MICHAEL^ S MOUNT.
which it is said that whoever sits therein before marriage will rule either wife or
husband,, as the case may be.
"Within an open balcony,
"That hung from dizzy pitch and high,"
Marmion.
There is thus much foundation of truth in the saying, that he or she must be a
person of strong nerves who can trust himself or herself to the giddy height. Not
a few, however, have done and do so. It may, perhaps, therefore be that there are
more strong-minded persons in the world than is commonly supposed.
This old Cornish family is now represented by
Sir Edward St. Aubyn, Baronet, so created July 31st., 1866.
B. FAVrCETT, ENGRAVER AND PRINTER, DRIPFIELD.
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